Ancient Egypt from the start of the 21st Dynasty with Smendes (Nesbanebdjed I) in 1077 BC to the conquest of Egypt by Alexander in 332 BC.

Egyptian Chronology

Egyptian Chronology

Date

Culture

Duration

11 000 BC

Jebel Sahaba

Before 8 000 BC - Palaeolithic in Europe and Northern Asia

8 000 BC - Nominal end of the Ice Age

8 600 - 4 400 BC

Nabta Playa Neolithic

4 200 years

6 100 - 5 180 BC

Qarunian (formerly known as Fayum B)

920 years

5 200 - 4 200 BC

Fayum A

1 000 years

4 800 - 4 200 BC

Merimde

600 years

4 600 - 4 400 BC

El Omari

200 years

4 400 - 4 000 BC

Badarian

400 years

4 000 - 3 300 BC

Maadi

700 years

4 000 - 3 500 BC

Naqada I

500 years

3 500 - 3 200 BC

Naqada II

300 years

3 200 - 3 100 BC

Naqada III

100 years

3 100 - 2 670 BC

Early Dynastic

586 years

2 670 - 2 181 BC

Old Kingdom

505 years

2 181 - 2 025 BC

First Intermediate Period

156 years

2 025 - 1 700 BC

Middle Kingdom

325 years

1 700 - 1 550 BC

Second Intermediate Period

150 years

1 550 - 1 077 BC

New Kingdom

473 years

1 077 - 664 BC

Third Intermediate Period

413 years

664 - 525 BC

Late Period

139 years

525 - 404 BC

First Persian Period

121 years

404 - 343 BC

Late Dynastic Period

61 years

343 - 332 BC

Second Persian Period

11 years

332 - 305 BC

Macedonian Period

27 years

305 - 30 BC

Ptolemaic Period

275 years

30 BC - 395 AD

Roman Period

425 years

395 AD - 640 AD

Byzantine Period

245 years

640 AD - 1517 AD

Islamic Period

877 years

1517 AD - 1867 AD

Ottoman Period(French Occupation 1798-1801)

350 years

1867 AD - 1914 AD

Khedival Period

47 years

1914 AD - 1922 AD

Sultanate under Hussein Kamel,as a British Protectorate

8 years

1922 AD - 1953 AD

Monarchy

31 years

1953 AD - Present Day

Republic

List of Egyptian Dynasties from the 21st to the 31st Dynasties

Date

Dynasty

Period

Duration(years)

Comments

1 077 - 943 BC

21st Dynasty

Third Intermediate Period

134

Lower (Northern) Egypt, ruled from Tanis

1 080 - 943 BC

High Priests of Amun

Third Intermediate Period

137

Middle and Upper (Southern) Egypt

943 - 716 BC

22nd Dynasty

Third Intermediate Period

227

Meshwesh ancient Libyansruled from Bubastis and Tanis

880 - 720 BC

23rd Dynasty

Third Intermediate Period

160

Controlled Middle and Upper (Southern) Egypt,including the Western Desert Oases inparallel with the Twenty-second dynasty,shortly before the death of Osorkon II.

732 - 720 BC

24th Dynasty

Third Intermediate Period

12

Short-lived group of pharaohs who hadtheir capital at Sais in the western Nile Delta.

760 - 656 BC

25th Dynasty

Third Intermediate Period

104

Known as the Nubian Dynasty,or the Kushite Empire, or the Napatan Period

664 - 525 BC

26th Dynasty

Late Period

139

Last native dynasty to rule Egyptbefore the Persian conquest in 525 BC

525 - 404 BC

27th Dynasty

Late Period

121

The First Egyptian Satrapy was effectivelya province (satrapy) of the Achaemenid Persian Empire between 525 BC to 404 BC

404 - 398 BC

28th Dynasty

Late Period

6

Amyrtaeus, a native Egyptian,took control of Egypt from the Persians

398 - 380 BC

29th Dynasty

Late Period

18

Ruled from Mendes

380 - 343 BC

30th Dynasty

Late Period

37

This dynasty was the lastnative dynasty in Egypt

343 - 332 BC

31st Dynasty

Late Period

11

Second Egyptian Satrapy, foundedby Artaxerxes III, the King of Persia

Table of dates from the start of the 21st Dynasty in 1 077 BC to the conquest of Egypt by Alexander in 332 BC, from various sources, mostly via Wikipedia

The 21st Dynasty: 1 077 BC - 943 BC

After the reign of Ramesses III early in the 20th Dynasty, a long, slow decline of royal power in Egypt followed. The pharaohs of the Twenty-First Dynasty ruled from Tanis, but were mostly active only in Lower Egypt which they controlled. This dynasty is described as 'Tanite' because its political capital was based at Tanis.

Meanwhile, the High Priests of Amun at Thebes effectively ruled Middle and Upper Egypt in all but name. The later Egyptian Priest Manetho of Sebennytos states in his Epitome on Egyptian royal history that 'the 21st Dynasty of Egypt lasted for 130 years'.

21st Dynasty

Name

Horus (Throne) Name

Consort

Burial

Years

Dates

Comments

Smendes(Nesbanebdjed I)

Hedjkheperre-Setepenre

Tentamun

26

1 077 BC - 1 051 BC

Amenemnisu

Neferkare-Heqawaset

4

1 051 BC - 1 047 BC

Psusennes I(Pasebkhanut I)

Akheperre-Setepenamun

MutnedjemetWiay

NRT III, Tanis

46

1 047 BC - 1 001 BC

Amenemope

Usermaetre-Setepenamun

MutnedjemetWiay

Tanis

9

1 001 BC - 992 BC

Osorkon the Elder

Akheperre-Setepenre

6

992 BC - 986 BC

Siamun

Netjerkheperre-Meryamun

19

986 BC - 967 BC

Psusennes II(Pasebkhanut II)

Tyetkheperure-Setepenre

19

967 BC - 943 BC

Table of 21st Dynasty Rulers, adapted from various sources, including Wikipedia.

Theban High Priests of Amun

While not regarded as a dynasty, the High Priests of Amun at Thebes were nevertheless of such power and influence that they were effectively the rulers of Upper Egypt from 1 080 BC to circa 943 BC, after which their influence declined.

By the time Herihor was proclaimed as the first ruling High Priest of Amun in 1080 BC - in the 19th Year of Ramesses XI - the Amun priesthood exercised an effective stranglehold on Egypt's economy. The Amun priests owned two-thirds of all the temple lands in Egypt and 90 percent of her ships plus many other resources. Consequently, the Amun priests were as powerful as the Pharaoh, if not more so.

One of the sons of the High Priest Pinedjem I would eventually assume the throne and rule Egypt for almost half a decade as pharaoh Psusennes I, while the Theban High Priest Psusennes III would take the throne as king Psusennes II, the final ruler of the 21st Dynasty.

Photo and text: Wikipedia

21st Dynasty: 1 077 BC - 943 BC

Coffin

This coffin from the 21st Dynasty is unusual in that the hair depicted is in a more natural style, although the wig is in blue, which is the divine colour.

The lid is decorated with many figures of gods, and repeated groups of symbols and amuletic devices relating to resurrection, including scarab beetles and the sky studded with stars. The scenes include the barque of the sun-god, the goddess Hathor in the form of a cow, and the presentation of offerings to various deities.

On the interior is painted a large figure of the god Osiris on a background of stars.

The coffin depicts the deceased wearing a large floral collar and leather braces signifying protection for the mummy. The surfaces are extensively decorated with scenes showing the adoration of Osiris and other deities, the winged solar disc, the goddess Nut and the sun-god in the form of a falcon.

The outer wrappings of the mummy are held in position by vertical, lateral and diagonal strips of linen, dyed in contrasting colours.
The inscriptions on the coffin omit the name of the dead person, although the painted chin-strap of a beard and the representation of the clenched hands suggest that it was designed for a man. X-rays have shown, however, that the mummy is that of a middle aged woman.

The exterior is decorated with scenes representing offerings to Osiris. Osiris is on a lion-shaped bier awakening to new life, and the deceased is giving offerings to the goddess Hathor in the form of a cow and receiving water from the Goddess of the West, who stands within the foliage of a tree.

A large figure of the Goddess of the West occupies the interior, to each side of which are some of the many forms in which the sun god was believed to be manifested.

The coffin was prepared for a woman with the title Chantress of Amen-Ra. The name Tanethenaef was added in a different colour of paint in spaces left for the purpose. The lid represents the dead woman adorned with a massive wig and a collar composed of flowers and petals. The numerous small scenes below represent Osiris, the sun god, and other deities.

( It should be noted from the images above that the 'blue' lotus flowers are apparently coloured green. This occurs because of the yellowing of the resin sometimes used to paint over the entire surface, and this transparent yellow changes the blues to green, in accordance with the way colours are seen by the human eye, see the quote below from Robins. Note, however, that some coffins were not painted with the resin, and the colours remain true, such as that of Taihuty, and for that of Bakenmut, it would seem that although most pale blues were changed to green, some remained blue, perhaps depending on the coverage of the resin, and the darkness of the original blue colour - Don )

In the late Eighteenth Dynasty a new sort of anthropoid coffin came into use alongside the black-painted type. By the reign of Ramses II the new type had superseded the older.

The ground was yellow, with decorations in red, light blue and dark blue, all covered by a varnish that has darkened over time and changed the blues to greens. The new scheme imitated gold and coloured inlay, and exceptional coffins used gold rather than paint. It became normal to show the forearms crossed on the chest underneath the elaborate collar through which the hands protrude. Women's hands were usually depicted open and men's clenched, holding amulets.

Below the collar a kneeling figure of the goddess Nut spreads her wings in protection. On the lower part of the lid the spaces between the bands of text show the deceased and deities, burial rites, and various scenes taken from the decorative repertory of tomb chapels. On the case Thoth and the four sons of Horus are still depicted.

Traditionally the coffin showed the deceased in an idealised form wearing the divine three part wig, and, if male, the long beard associated with male gods.

Mid-late 21st dynasty, about 1000 BC - 945 BC, from Bab el-Gasus, no. 29.
Below the floral collar is a large image of the sun god as a child squatting upon a lotus flower and flanked by protective winged serpent. Beneath this is the goddess Nut and series of compartments containing figures of the gods Osiris and Sokar, and the ba of the dead man.

(right) High resolution close up of a winged scarab within the floral collar, and, below the collar, a large image of the sun god as a child within a red sun-disk, sitting on a lotus, bearing a striped crook as a symbol of power, and flanked by protective winged serpents.

Note that the scarab has had a face, looking to the right, added to the head. The face is that of the Egyptian god Khnum which was usually depicted with the head of a ram.

Although the text above states that the sun god is sitting on a lotus flower, what this closeup shows is that it is the sun disk which sits on the lotus flower, whereas the sun god himself is actually sitting on what appears to be the seed case of a pink lotus.

These seed cases can be seen on either side of the red sun disk, and immediately below it, still bearing what looks like a schematic image of their stalks. Some reports, including
that of Harer (1985) and Pommerening, Marinova, Hendrickx (2010) say that the pink or sacred lotus only arrived in Egypt from Asia in about 525 BC at the time of the Persian conquest.

Thus either the sacred or pink lotus was imported much earlier than that into Egypt, given the age of this mummy-board, or the design I have interpreted as a lotus seed case is in fact something else.

The seed case of the pink lotus may be seen in the drawing below, similar only in general shape to a poppy seed case, but with exposed holes or receptacles in the seed case holding the seeds.

( note that this image is a drawing of the Sacred Lotus from Asia, Nelumbo nucifera, which is not endemic to the area, and was apparently imported at the time of the Persian conquest of Egypt - Don )

Two of the species of lotus which grew in the Nile, the white and the blue, have seed-vessels similar to those of the poppy: the capsules contain small grains of the size of millet-seed. The fruit of the pink lotus 'grows on a different stalk from that of the flower, and springs directly from the root; it resembles a honeycomb in form,' or, to take a more prosaic simile, the rose of a watering-pot. The upper part has twenty or thirty cavities, 'each containing a seed as big as an olive stone, and pleasant to eat either fresh or dried.'

This is what the ancients called the bean of Egypt. 'The yearly shoots of the papyrus are also gathered. After pulling them up in the marshes, the points are cut off and rejected, the part remaining being about a cubit in length. It is eaten as a delicacy and is sold in the markets, but those who are fastidious partake of it only after baking.' Twenty different kinds of grain and fruits, prepared by crushing between two stones, are kneaded and baked to furnish cakes or bread; these are often mentioned in the texts as cakes of nabeca, date cakes, and cakes of figs. Lily loaves, made from the roots and seeds of the lotus, were the delight of the gourmand, and appear on the tables of the kings of the XIXth dynasty.

High resolution close up of the goddess Nut on the coffin, and the ram's head of Khnum within a red solar disk which also contains his enemy, the snake, Apep.

Khnum was one of the earliest Egyptian deities, originally the god of the source of the Nile River. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt and clay, and its water brought life to its surroundings, he was thought to be the creator of the bodies of human children, which he made at a potter's wheel, from clay, and placed in their mothers' wombs. Khnum is the third aspect of Ra, the solar deity, bringer of light.

The snake Apep was named as the greatest enemy of Ra, and was also known as 'the Lord of Chaos'. Ra was worshipped, and Apep worshipped against. Ra's victory each night, shown by the rising of the sun, was thought to be ensured by the prayers of the Egyptian priests and worshippers at temples. The Egyptians practiced a number of rituals and superstitions that were thought to ward off Apep, and aid Ra to continue his journey across the sky.

During the 21st Dynasty many coffins at Thebes were removed from tombs and reinscribed to adapt them for new owners. On this mummy-board the name of the owner, the Chantress of Amun Tameniut, has been erased and subsequently restored.

A hieroglyphic text on the reverse (lower left) throws light on this. It is dated in the third year of an unnamed ruler, and states that the object was restored to its true owner after it was found that the workers of the necropolis had removed the names from the inscriptions.

Ankhefenmut's title was the priest and sculptor of the temple of the goddess Mut, consort of Amun-Re. Mut's cult-temple was at Thebes / Luxor, its ruins lying to the south of the great Temple of Amun-Re at Karnak. The colour palette used on Ankhefenmut's mummy board is limited to red, black and yellow. White is used, but only for the eyes and details of the net which covers the lower body of the figure.

Ankhefenmut is shown wearing the usual wig and garland collar around his upper body. On the lower half of the body is a cross-hatched design, which imitates a bead net on a red background. The design echoes real nets, made of faience beads, which have been found in some cases placed over the mummy inside the coffin.

The vertical and horizontal bands on the lower body match the bandages on the outside of mummies of this period.The goddess Nut is shown protecting the deceased with her feathered wings. She first appears on coffins and mummy boards from the New Kingdom (about 1550-1070 BC). She still appears, in human form, on the interior of coffins in the Roman period, a thousand years later.

There are other protective symbols on this coffin: the wedjat eyes which form a band on the right arm, perhaps representing a bracelet. These amulets were worn by the living, as well as being placed on the mummy, and represented on coffins.

The exterior is decorated with a variety of scenes, including the sun god's barque, rowed by a procession of deities, and the deceased in the company of various gods, making offerings to the goddess Hathor in the form of a cow.

The interior is decorated with a large image of the Djed pillar enfolded in protective wings, and with mummiform figures representing different manifestations of the sun-god.
Length 2084 mm.

The outer coffin of Bakenmut shows him wearing a striped head-dress surmounted by a lotus blossom, and with a garland collar around his shoulders and upper body. This arrangement is often depicted on coffins of the New Kingdom (circa 1550 - 1070 BC) and early first millennium BC. Bakenmut's crossed hands hold the djed pillar and tit amulet.

The tit symbol (pronounced teet) illustrates a knotted piece of cloth whose early meaning is unknown, but in the New Kingdom it was clearly associated with the goddess Isis, the great magician and wife of Osiris. By this time, the tit (or tjet) was also associated with blood of Isis. The tit or tjet sign was considered a potent symbol of protection in the afterlife and the Book of the Dead specifies that the tit be made of blood-red stone, and placed at the deceased's neck.

Knots were widely used as amulets because the Egyptians believed they bound and released magic.

Below kneels a figure of the goddess Nut with her wings outstretched in order to protect the mummy. Nut is often depicted in this pose on the exterior of coffins of this period, and the preceding New Kingdom.

The exterior of Bakenmut's coffin is crammed with small scenes. The paint is so thickly applied that they appear in slightly raised relief. The scenes show deities such as Osiris, Isis and Nephthys and those linked with the solar cycle, such as the scarab Khepri, as well as Re in various mummified forms.

(Note the very strange images painted on this particular interior. Horus, the falcon headed god, is immediately recognisable, as is Thoth, the ibis headed god, but there are some odd snake like headed gods as well, probably various versions of Apep, the evil Lord of Chaos, the snake headed enemy of Ra, the solar deity, the bringer of light.

In addition there is a somewhat rare depiction of Unut, a goddess with a hare's head. I find the god to the right of Thoth at the base of the coffin particularly enigmatic. It appears to be a god with the head of a Khet, or brazier - Don )

The main feature of the interior of the coffin is a large djed pillar, topped by a triple version of the crown of Osiris, further ornamented with rams horns. At the top of the coffin is a large ba bird, whose wings flanked the head of the mummy.

The outer coffin of Bakenmut shows him wearing a striped head-dress surmounted by a lotus blossom, and with a garland collar around his shoulders and upper body. This arrangement is often depicted on coffins of the New Kingdom (about 1550-1070 BC) and early first millennium BC.

Bakenmut's crossed hands hold the djed pillar and tit amulet. Below kneels a figure of the goddess Nut with her wings outstretched in order to protect the mummy. Nut is often depicted in this pose on the exterior of coffins of this period, and the preceding New Kingdom.

The exterior of Bakenmut's coffin is crammed with small scenes. The paint is so thickly applied that they appear in slightly raised relief. The scenes show deities such as Osiris, Isis and Nephthys and those linked with the solar cycle, such as the scarab Khepri, as well as Re in various mummified forms.

The main feature of the interior of the coffin is a large djed pillar, topped by a triple version of the crown of Osiris, further ornamented with rams horns.

At the top of the coffin is a large ba bird, whose wings flanked the head of the mummy.

(Note that that there are many individuals with the name of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu. They are further designated scribe or prophet or priest, and sometimes have suffixes after the name to identify them - Don )

The priest of Ankh-ef-en-Khonsu. Since he is one with Osiris, he is shown (on the right, the topmost lid) with a curved beard and holding an ankh sign, the sign of life.

This is an excellent diagram of the family of the high priests of Thebes / Luxor and the royal family of Tanis.

Tanis was a city in ancient Egypt and served as a parallel religious centre to Thebes / Luxor in the Third Intermediate Period. No archaeological evidence from it pre-dates the reign of Psusennes I (1039-991 BC, 21st Dynasty), but many scholars think it originated in the late New Kingdom. Tanis's creation was most likely due to the silting up of the Nile branch that ran by
Pi-Ramesses, which forced people to seek another area with access to water. Later on, Tanis would become known as Thebes / Luxor of Lower Egypt.

The kings at Tanis saw themselves as the legitimate successors on the throne of Upper and Lower Egypt. They used traditional titles and displayed their royalty in building work, although that was insignificant when compared to activity at the height of the New Kingdom.

Tanis was founded in the late Twentieth Dynasty, and became the northern capital of Egypt during the following Twenty-first Dynasty. It was the home city of Smendes, founder of the 21st dynasty. During the Twenty-second Dynasty Tanis remained as Egypt's political capital (though there were sometimes rival dynasties located elsewhere in Upper Egypt). It was an important commercial and strategic city until it was threatened with inundation by Lake Manzala in the 6th century AD, when it was finally abandoned. The refugees founded the nearby city of Tennis.

The anthropoid (human-shaped) coffin of Amenemipet is typical of Egyptian coffins of the period immediately after the New Kingdom (that is, after about 1070 BC). At this time, Egyptian tombs were not decorated, and many of the scenes which would have appeared on the tomb walls were instead transferred to the coffins.The various scenes on the exterior and interior of the coffin are painted in white, blue, green, red and black on a yellow background.

Short hieroglyphic labels, written on a white background, explain the scenes. These include the worship of the sun god and other deities by the deceased and his ba. According to Egyptian beliefs, the ba was an element of the individual (similar to 'personality'), which was divided at death but reunited in the Afterlife. It is represented as a bird with a human head. Another scene shows Amenemipet's mummy being purified by Anubis.

The funerary deities Isis and Nephthys are also represented.The cartouche of King Amenhotep I (about 1525-1504 BC) appears on the interior of the coffin, by the head of the deceased. Amenhotep was a king of the early Eighteenth Dynasty, and revered as the founder of the Theban necropolis (cemetery).

The lid is dominated by a large floral collar, over which is represented a crossed stole of red leather, an element of the trappings of mummies at this period, probably signifying protection. The exterior of the coffin case carries scenes from the Amduat, showing the nocturnal journey of the sun god. On the interior are depictions of the solar disc and the deceased adoring various gods.

This object, EA22542, is perhaps best known for the strange folkloric history attributed to it. It has acquired the popular nickname of the 'Unlucky Mummy', with a reputation for bringing misfortune. None of these stories has any basis in fact, but from time to time the strength of the rumours has led to a flood of enquiries.

The mummy-board is said to have been bought by one of four young English travellers in Egypt during the 1860s or 1870s. Two died or were seriously injured in shooting incidents, and the other two died in poverty within a short time. The mummy-board was passed to the sister of one of the travellers, but as soon as it had entered her house the occupants suffered a series of misfortunes. The celebrated clairvoyant Madame Helena Blavatsky is alleged to have detected an evil influence, and ultimately traced it to the mummy-board. She urged the owner to dispose of it and in consequence it was presented to the British Museum.

The most remarkable story is that the mummy-board was on board the SS Titanic on its maiden voyage in 1912, and that its presence caused the ship to collide with an iceberg and sink!Needless to say, there is no truth in any of this; the object had never left the Museum until it went to a temporary exhibition in 1990.

This mummy-board is both a remarkable ancient object and an example of how Egyptian objects can develop their own modern existence.Mummy-boards or covers like this were placed on top of the mummy, which would lie inside one or two wooden coffins decorated in a very similar fashion. The mummy to which this board belonged is said to have been left in Egypt.

No inscriptions on the board identify the deceased, presumably because that task would have been performed by the outer coffins.The wooden board was covered in plaster, serving as a painting ground, with many of the decorative elements modelled in the plaster to give the appearance of raised relief. The decoration was executed with great care in red, blue, and light and dark green; the predominantly yellow effect comes either from the use of a yellow ground or from the varnish, applied to the finished object, which has gradually turned yellow.

On the shoulders of the mummy-board is a massive coloured collar, below which is a series of complex scenes. They include images of baboons worshipping the sun, figures of Osiris, and many protective deities, including the name of Amenhotep I, the dead king worshipped as a local deity in Thebes / Luxor. One of the coffin's functions, other than to act as a container for the body, was to serve as a microcosm, setting the deceased within the larger environment of the universe itself; thus the solar and Osirian symbolism essential to assist the person's rebirth figures prominently. The decoration usual in the Twenty-first Dynasty is perhaps the most elaborate example of this.

From Wikipedia:

The name 'Unlucky Mummy' is misleading as the artifact is not a mummy at all, but rather a gessoed and painted wooden 'mummy-board' or inner coffin lid. It was found at Thebes / Luxor and can be dated by its shape and the style of its decoration to the late 21st or early 22nd Dynasty (c 950–900 BC).

In the British Museum it is known by its serial number EA 22542. The beardless face and the position of the hands with fingers extended show that it was made to cover the mummified body of a woman. Her identity is not known due to the brief hieroglyphic inscriptions containing only short religious phrases, and omitting mention of the name of the deceased. The high quality of the lid indicates that the owner was a person of high rank. It was usual for such ladies to participate in the musical accompaniments to the rituals in the temple of Amen-ra; hence early British Museum publications described the owner of 22542 as a 'priestess of Amen-Ra'.

The mummy-board is 162 centimetres (64 in) in length and made out of wood and plaster. The detail is painted upon the plaster, and hands protrude from the wooden mummy-board. For its age, the mummy-board is of good quality.

The mummy-board has acquired a reputation for bringing misfortune, and a vast web of mythology has developed around it. It has been credited with causing death, injury and large-scale disasters such as the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, thereby earning the nickname 'The Unlucky Mummy'. None of these stories have any basis in fact, but from time to time the strength of the rumours has led to a flood of enquiries on the subject. A disclaimer written by Wallis Budge was published in 1934, and yet since that time the myth has undergone further embellishment.

The 'Unlucky Mummy' has also been linked to the death of the British writer and journalist, Bertram Fletcher Robinson. Robinson conducted research into the history of that artefact whilst working as a journalist for the Daily Express newspaper during 1904. He became convinced that the 'Unlucky Mummy' had malevolent powers and died just three years later aged 36 years.

21st Dynasty - 31st Dynasty: 1 077 BC - 332 BC

Model of a house

Limestone model of a house. Three storeys are depicted, with two doors on the ground level, and square windows on the upper floors (the middle floor windows feature cross-braces, while those above are represented with mesh coverings, perhaps of wood or metal).

The sculptor has indicated the exterior brickwork, with courses rising towards the corners of the building. This construction method is typical of Third Intermediate and (especially) Late Period mud brick architecture. The top of the model is damaged, but a rooftop space is suggested.

This is Third Intermediate and (especially) Late Period mud brick architecture.

( note that, unusually, exactly the same scene is repeated on all four sides of this chest - Don )

Predecessor: Psusennes II. Successor: Osorkon I

Children: Osorkon I, Iuput A, Nimlot B

Shoshenq I (Egyptian ššnq), also known as Sheshonk or Sheshonq I , was a pharaoh of ancient Egypt and the founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty. Of ancient Libyan (Meshwesh-Berber) ancestry, Shoshenq I was the son of Nimlot A, Great Chief of the Ma, and his wife Tentshepeh A, a daughter of a Great Chief of the Ma herself. He is presumed to be the Shishaq mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, and his exploits are carved on the Bubastite Portal at Karnak.

Though provided with negligible text, the chest is here included as the only certain survivor of the lost royal burial. Of Egyptian alabaster and in square naos form, the box is covered by a lid provided with a cavetto cornice and torus moldings

(base: 480 x 480 x 530 mm; lid: 580 x 545 x 175 mm).

The naos as a small shrine is known in its typically Egyptian form since the beginning of Ancient Egyptian history. It eventually came to be represented as an Egyptian hieroglyph, as shown here.

The interior is carved into four compartments, approximately 15 cm in diameter. On each lateral side, Isis and Nephthys enfold their wings across the surface. Text appears only on the front, with slight damage from a crowbar once used in prying off the lid. The roof of the lid is decorated with a spread vulture facing the front; the separate head is now lost. Serpents are carved along the side edges.

Mummy of a man of middle age. Resin has been poured on the linen wrappings.

Skull - The mouth is closed, but some teeth are missing. An incisor and two premolars are lying in the nasal area. Artificial eyes are inserted in the orbits, but the eye in the left is displaced. There are no obvious fractures and the cervical spine appears intact.

Thorax and Abdomen - The ribs and spinal column have no fractures or dislocations. There is a pectoral in the form of a bird with open wings, with a heart-scarab below it. A dense mass occupies the left thoracic apex; this is almost certainly a mixture of sand and mud. The four parcels of viscera fill the rest of the thorax. A large swab of linen has been pushed into the flank-incision which is covered by a metal plate. There is a large rounded granular mass in the pelvis. The pelvis and hips appear normal.

Legs - There is a large oval opacity between the thighs. This may represent a package of resin-impregnated linen possibly containing shed epidermis. No fractures, dislocations, or lines of arrested growth seen.

Base and lid of the anthropoid sycomore fig wooden coffin of Denytenamun, Priest of Amun: wooden mask with inlaid eyes, perhaps a portrait of the deceased, is inserted over the face; lid - polychrome painted wig and wide collar, overlaid with 'braces', hands in relief, representation of sun-god on solar-barque protects the breast with Osiris, flanked by Isis and Nephthys, with wings poised in a gesture of protection.

Below, a vertical register of hieroglyphs runs down the centre of the body and is flanked by six vignettes:
1 and 2: the deceased worships manifestations of the sun-god.
3 and 4: the cow of Hathor and the bull of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris stand before the western mountains and the tomb of the deceased.
5 and 6: the four Sons of Horus, with jackals beneath, the foot section is damaged in places; the base - is decorated with representations of funerary deities, in yellow outline on a dark ground; also some fragments of mummy-wrapping, some coated in resin, now removed from the coffin.

This anthropomorphic coffin belonged to a man named Djed-Mut-iu-ef-anch, son of Mut-dit-ef. He was the 'water carrier' of the Amun temple. The term 'water carrier' refers to a person who takes care of much of the necessary routine work, thus relieving the other workers of considerable effort, and contributing decisively to the success of a venture.

Different and unusual production techniques can be found on different components of the coffin cover. On the coffin lid, a canvas layer was laminated from the head to the breast, upon which a primer and a painting layer have been used. The eyebrows and eyelids are modelled from hard wax and are painted, and inserted into pre-formed recesses.

The design of the decoration below the wide necked collar, shown with a phoenix amulet, is also unusual. It begins with ba-birds seen in the shoulder regions. In the two following pictures, all four Horus sons are depicted with human heads. These are more usually depicted as human, baboon, jackal and falcon-headed.

They also wear the costume of the living. Behind them are a falcon on the left and a heron on the right. The middle panels show the Osiris fetish standing behind the goddesses on the left and a boat with the Sokar falcon on the right. In the lowest scenes Horus and Thot can be seen in front of the open shrines, where there is a mummy. On the shrines there is a Horus falcon with a double crown.
In contrast to the elaborately decorated coffin lid, the yellow-primed coffin case of Djed-Mut-iu-ef-anch is decorated with only a ribbon of hieroglyphic inscription encircling the entire coffin case.

Mummy of Djedkhonsiufankh. The mummy, when acquired, was in a gilded cartonnage mummy-case and wooden coffin with a gilded face and inlaid glass (?) eyes bearing painted deities and the name Djedkhonsiufankh, son of Pennestytawy, son of Nesamun.

Skull - No obvious fractures. The mouth was closed; details of the teeth are poor. No artificial eyes were visible, but these may well have been obscured by bone shadows.

Thorax and Abdomen - Entirely filled with what is probably a mixture of sand, sawdust, and resin. It is likely that the four visceral packs are embedded in this material. Over the lower end of the sternum is a winged pectoral. Above the pectoral is a small amulet ('was'-sceptre perhaps) and below a scarab.

Details of the ribs are poor, but the dorsal and lumbar vertebrae show gross osteo-arthritic changes. An opaque rectangular flank-plate covers the embalming incision on the left side of the abdomen. There is considerable subcutaneous packing in the region of the thighs. The pelvic cavity has also been tightly packed. No obvious fractures or dislocations of the pelvis.

Arms - Extended. The palms of the hands (fingers extended) cover the genital area. No obvious fractures or dislocations.

Legs - The long bones appear normal and there are no fractures, dislocations or lines of arrested growth. In the bandages between the thighs is a ring with a scarab as a bezel. The bones of the feet are within normal limits.
Also listed as Djedkhonsefankh on the museum card associated with the display.

Also listed as Djedkhonsuefankh, and as Djedkhonsefankh, second son of Pinudjem I, brother of Masaharta.

The cartonnage case has been extensively decorated with gilded low-relief scenes showing the sun god in the form of a ram-headed falcon, the sons of Horus and the goddesses Isis and Nephthys with wings outspread in protection over the body.

After the body was placed in the coffin the surface was coated with a layer of molten resin which has obscured the scenes and inscriptions.

The colour black was closely associated by the Egyptians with death and resurrection. At several periods, coffins and other funerary objects were coloured black, often with inscriptions and decoration in gold leaf or yellow or white paint. The coffin of Djedkhonsefankh typifies this colour scheme. The face is covered with gold leaf, and has inlaid eyes, while the main features of the decoration are executed in cream coloured paint.

On the lid are figures of the goddess Nut and a scene of a child-god shaking a sistrum before the jackal-diety Anubis. The compartments below contain depictions of the dead man in the presence of various gods, including the deified king Amenhotep I. Along the sides of the case are scenes drawn from the repertoire of the Books of the Underworld, which illustrate the denizens of the kingdom of Osiris and the treatment, according to the blessed and the damned. These scenes include deities armed with knives, and a large serpent spitting fire towards the decapitated enemies of the sun god.

The Ancient Egyptian Panehsy was Prophet of Amenhotep (I) of the Forecourt, during the reign of Ramesses II . He had a troubled career as viceroy in Nubia.

Panehsy or Pinehesy was Viceroy of Kush during the reign of Ramesses XI, the last king of the Egyptian 20th Dynasty. Sometime during the reign of Ramesses XI, Pinehesy succeeded in temporarily suppressing the Theban High Priest of Amun, Amenhotep. Although this 'suppression of the High Priest of Amun' used to be dated quite early in the reign (prior to year 9 of the reign), recently the communis opinio has changed to the view that it took place only shortly before the start of the Whm Mswt or Renaissance, an era which was inaugurated in regnal Year 19, probably to stress the return of normal conditions following the coup of Pinehesy.

Following this suppression, Pinehesy was chased out of the Thebais, although it is not entirely clear who ended this anarchic period. It seems that Pinehesy more or less maintained his position in Nubia for over a decade. Some ten years after the suppression, in year 10 of the Whm Mswt, the Renaissance, the then High Priest of Amun and Viceroy of Kush, Piankh, went on an expedition to 'meet Pinehesy'. Although this is seen by many Egyptologists as an expedition to attack Pinehesy, this is little more than speculation. Other Egyptologists have suggested that Piankh may have rather gone south to negotiate with Pinehesy. Of the outcome of this undertaking very little is known. It seems, however, that Pinehesy died of old age while still in control of Lower Nubia.

The Theban Tomb TT16 is located in Dra' Abu el-Naga', part of the Theban Necropolis, on the west bank of the Nile, opposite to Luxor. It is the burial place of the Ancient Egyptian Panehsy, who was Prophet of Amenhotep (I) of the Forecourt, during the reign of Ramesses II.

Panehesy's wife is named Ternute (or Tarennu). A brother of Panehesy by the name of Pahesy appears in a scene with the procession of a vase of Amun. The tomb is rather roughly hewn from the rock, and the decoration is poor. A scene of the barque of Amenhotep I has been almost totally destroyed, but other scenes showing Panehsy and his wife standing before Osiris are preserved.

Cartonnage: In a technique similar to papier-mâché, scraps of linen or papyrus were stuck together with resin and/or plaster, and moulded to the shape of the body, forming a type of shell, and used to make mummy cases and masks. After the material dried it could be painted or gilded, and the shell could be decorated with geometric shapes, deities, and inscriptions.

(The technique of cartonnage has several advantages. It would have been much easier and faster to get a realistic portrait of the person concerned, it was light and easy to handle, it did not crack, and was certainly a lot cheaper than wood, which had to be imported at huge expense from places such as Lebanon - Don )

For the ancient Egyptians, life was very important after death. They prepared for death throughout their life, as much as was practicable.
Around 900 BC mummies were prepared with cartonnage as skintight sleeves. The material of such a sleeve comprised linen soaked in gum arabic. This was then plastered on the mummy, pulled off when dry, and then tied on the back with laces. The sleeve was painted in many colours, and often covered with gold leaf.

The mummy sleeve of Panehsy is a very nice specimen. The paintings, winged figures of gods and hieroglyphics, have a general protective significance. On the back of the sleeve is a djed-pillar, the Egyptian symbol for sustainability and continued existence. The djed symbol is one of the more ancient and commonly found symbols in Egyptian mythology. It is a pillar-like symbol in hieroglyphics representing stability. It is associated with Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead. It is commonly understood to represent his spine.

The lid of the mummy case of Djedmontuiufankh bears painted decorations that include rituals and spells from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. This book was a kind of guide for the dead man as he journeyed through the afterlife, so that his soul could live on, 'housed' in the mummy and its case. For centuries, the Egyptians had painted such scenes on the walls of their tombs. But around 1000 BC, when Djedmontuiufankh, a priest of Amun, died and was mummified, the political and social situation in Egypt had become volatile. Important personages were buried in bare, hidden chambers in the rock so that grave robbers could not find them. Mummies were placed in cases, and all the symbols, rituals, and spells had to be painted on those cases.

The wooden lid of Djedmontuiufankh’s mummy case shows the priest in the form of the god Osiris. Every dead person became an Osiris, destined to rise from the dead. This is why Djedmontuiufankh is wearing a long divine wig and braided divine beard and has crossed his hands over his chest, holding two schematically depicted sceptres. On his chest and belly lie protective figures of the god Horus (shown with a falcon’s head), the sky goddess Nut, and the disc of the sun. Between them are smaller figures of gods and many columns of hieroglyphic text. The rest of the mummy case, which is not on display here, is decorated inside and out with many other scenes, including offerings, the burial, and the ritual cleansing of the dead man by the goddesses Isis and Nephthys.

Cartonnage mummy-case and skeleton of a child who suffered from the disease osteogenesis imperfecta

From Speos Artemidos, Beni Hasan, circa 945 BC - 716 BC.

Osteogenesis imperfecta is a disorder arising from inadequate formation of bone tissue, resulting in delicate bones, often referred to as 'brittle bone' disease. The remains of this infant constitute the best-preserved instance of the condition from antiquity.

The skull shows a characteristic deformity caused by the stress of supporting the cranial vault. The bones are light and distorted due to massive fracturing.

It is evident that the cartonnage case itself could have accommodated a larger child. The cartonnage mummy-case is in the form of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, anthropoid, wearing wig, beard and plumed sun-disc, decorated with polychrome painted funerary deities and protective falcons, with vertical register of hieroglyphs down centre of the body. The foot end of the case is now missing.

In tombs of earlier periods, a stela served as the focal point of the funerary chapel, where offerings to the dead were made.

During the Third Intermediate Period, when few tombs possessed individual chapels, a small stela was sometimes deposited near the coffin. This example, made for a man named Ir, is typical of its period. It depicts the deceased making an offering to the sun god Ra-Horakhty, who usually replaced Osiris on 22nd Dynasty funerary stelae.

The bronze statuette of a god-father of the Chon, named Meh-Chonsu, is shown as a bald-headed priest, who is dressed in a long, pleated skirt, smooth sleeved shirt and sandals. Around his neck is an amulet in the form of the falcon-headed moon god of Chon. His hands lie on the front of the apron, almost touching the shoulders of an Osiris statuette, which is in high relief on the apron. On the right side of the robe is a priest with an incense burner in his right hand. On the other side, the same priest in relief is holding two bullet-like objects in his hands. On the upper body of the Meh-Chonsu there are further fine decorations in engravings. On the back, the gods' family Osiris, Horus and Isis are depicted under a heavenly hieroglyph in a rectangular image. On the sleeves of the shirt, you can see the man-shaped Amun-Re with double-crowned crown, and on the left the ithyphallic (showing an erect penis) Amun of Luxor.

The statuette shows a representation of protection by the god Osiris, also protected by other depicted deities like Chons and Amun. The priest Pa-scheri (en) -Its, most likely a family member of the Meh-Chonsu, represented at the same time the god of Osiris as well as the owner of the statuette Meh-Chonsu. This statue belongs to the relatively small group of particularly high-quality metal inlays of the Third Intermediate Period. The separately made arms are also typical of their creation time. (I. Liao)

The figure of Khonsumeh, whose enlarged, elongated, and shaved head dominates his small face, wears a long, pleated sash kilt and a plain shirt with elaborate sleeves. Together, these features exemplify the priestly style that first flourished in reliefs and paintings during the Ramesside period and that remained highly influential throughout the Third Intermediate Period in depictions of individuals in temple roles. A number of details suggest a relatively early date for this statuette, including the large bright eyes with a crease in the lid and the added figural elements, which have parallels in works from the tenth and ninth centuries BC. Khonsumeh is described in an inscription on the front of the statue as a ' God's Father of Khonsu ', and he wears an image of this god as a pendant. On the sides of the statue are representations of Pasherienese, a ' God's Father of Atum '. The title ' God's Father ' has a complicated history; by the Ramesside period it had probably come to signify a priestly rank below that of ' prophet ', but in the Third Intermediate Period, when, as noted above, priestly titles proliferated and shifted somewhat in meaning, the exact significance of the title is difficult to pinpoint.

The statue of Khonsumeh has paired deity figures on the upper arms. These images are linear, but on the skirt of the statue are two images, cast in high relief, of a man named Pasherienese, probably a releative of Khonsumeh, making offerings. These images reflect a long-standing tradition, dating to the late Old Kingdom, of depicting family members on the sides of a private statue. In the Third Intermediate Period such figures sometimes appeared on stone statues, but that of Khonsumeh is the only known example in metal. The function of the male figures is clearly distinguished from those of divinities both by their offering pose and by the plastic modelling, which lends them an almost three-dimensional quality.

Equally formal is the framed scene on the back of the statue which shows the deities Osiris, Horus, and Isis. While this group evokes the funerary domain, the separate figures of Amun-Re and Amenemopet on the upper arms point to a temple role for the statue, and this is further emphasised by the three-dimensional image of Osiris that Khonsumeh presents. Was this figure perhaps installed, like similar stone statues, in a temple court or collonade to function continuously as a focus for offerings to the spirt of Khonsumeh? Or was its role closer to that of the statues of God's Wives, and as such was it intended to be placed near the cult image on the processional barque on festal occasions?

Rê-Harakhte, the horizontal Rê, is considered the morning aspect of the sun god and is one of the most important gods in Egypt. The idea of the cyclical course of the sun was of central importance to all regenerative forces in Egypt. The way of the earth was coupled to the passage of the god Rê, who travels every day in his boat through twelve hours of the day and night.

The Twenty-third Dynasty of ancient Egypt was a separate regime of Meshwesh Libyan kings, who ruled ancient Egypt. This dynasty is often considered part of the Third Intermediate Period.

The so-called Twenty-Third Dynasty was an offshoot of the Twenty-second dynasty, perhaps based in Upper (southern) Egypt, though there is much debate concerning this issue. All of its kings reigned in Middle and Upper Egypt including the Western Desert Oases.

There is much debate surrounding this dynasty, which may have been situated at Herakleopolis Magna, Hermopolis Magna, and Thebes. Monuments from their reign show that they controlled Upper (southern) Egypt in parallel with the Twenty-second dynasty, shortly before the death of Osorkon II.

23rd Dynasty

Name

Horus (Throne) Name

Consort

Years

Dates

Comments

Harsiese A

Hedjkheperre-Setpenamun

Isetweret I

20

880 BC - 860 BC

Independent king at Thebes,ruled during Takelot I'sand Osorkon II's reigns.

The Twenty-fourth Dynasty of ancient Egypt was a short-lived group of two pharaohs who had their capital at Sais in the western Nile Delta.

Tefnakht I formed an alliance of the Delta kinglets, with whose support he attempted to conquer Upper Egypt; his campaign attracted the attention of the Nubian king, Piye, who recorded his conquest and subjection of Tefnakhte of Sais and his peers in a well-known inscription. Tefnakht is always called the 'Great Chief of the West' in Piye's Victory stela and in two stelas dating to the regnal years 36 and 38 of Shoshenq V.

Tefnakht I's successor, Bakenranef, definitely assumed the throne of Sais and took the royal name Wahkare. His authority was recognised in much of the Delta including Memphis where several Year 5 and Year 6 Serapeum stelas from his reign have been found. This Dynasty came to a sudden end when Shabaka, the second king of the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty, attacked Sais, captured Bakenrenef and burned him alive.

24th Dynasty

Name

Horus (Throne) Name

Consort

Years

Dates

Comments

Tefnakht I

Shepsesre

8

732 BC - 725 BC

Bakenranef

Wahkare

5

725 BC - 720 BC

Table of 24th Dynasty Rulers, adapted from various sources, including Wikipedia.

24th Dynasty: 732 BC - 720 BC

Tefnakht I

Pharaoh Shepsesre Tefnakht I's stone donation stela from Sais dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Neith, now located at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, Greece.

This stela constitutes one of the most important documents for this Lower Egyptian Delta king who ruled during the Kushite period of Egypt in the Third Intermediate Period (circa 8th century BC) because it preserves a date within his important reign: his 8th Regnal year.

Stele commemorating the death of an Apis bull in year 6 of Bakenranef, found in the Serapeum of Saqqara. Bakenranef's name is visible on the tip of the stele. Reign of Bakenranef, 24th dynasty, Third intermediate period.

This Bakenranef or Bocchoris vase is a ceramic container dating from Ancient Egypt. It was found in 1895 in a tomb at Tarquinia, and is now in the National Museum at Tarquinia (222 mm high; Museum inv. no. RC 2010). The vessel, often also labelled as situla and made of Egyptian faience, bears an inscription with the names of the 24th dynasty pharaoh Wahkare Bakenrenef (Greek: Bocchoris) who ruled about 720 BC to 715 BC. It shows the king between the Egyptian goddess Neith and the god Horus in the middle register, on one side and on the other between Horus and Thoth. In the lower register are shown Egyptian enemies between trees and monkeys. The vessel is an important evidence for long distance trade in the 9th and 8th century BC. It is furthermore of some importance for dating earlier phases of Etruscan culture in Italy. Because of the good preservation of the vessel, it has been argued that it came very shortly after it was made into the Etruscan tomb.

The place of production of the vase is under discussion. The object appears on the first view fully Egyptian. The hieroglyphs are readable. However, some researchers regard the vase as a product of a Phoenician workshop, since it is known that the Phoenicians often produced objects in Egyptian style. The Phoenician origin was suggested after the discovery of a similar – yet of a somewhat lower quality – vessel near Motya, Sicily. However, the finding at Tarquinia of two situliform vessels with the names of Psamtik I and Psamtik II respectively, again suggested a Lower Egyptian origin of the Bocchoris vase.

The vase was found in 1895 in a tomb chamber with a pitched roof and a bench. The tomb owner might be a woman judging from the objects found. Gold foil plaques might have adorned clothing. Many Egyptian beads were found. Two beads show the Egyptian god Bes, there were bronze and pottery vessels. Due to the Bocchoris vase being the best known object from the tomb, by eponimy the whole tomb is often called 'Bocchoris Tomb', despite not having any connection with the actual burial place of king Bocchoris, which is still unknown.

The Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt (notated Dynasty XXV, alternatively 25th Dynasty or Dynasty 25), also known as the Nubian Dynasty or the Kushite Empire, was the last dynasty of the Third Intermediate Period of Ancient Egypt.

The 25th Dynasty was a line of rulers originating in the Nubian Kingdom of Kush - in present-day northern Sudan and southern Egypt - and most saw Napata as their spiritual homeland. They reigned in part or all of Ancient Egypt from 760 BC to 656 BC. The dynasty began with Kashta's invasion of Upper Egypt and culminated in several years of both successful and unsuccessful war with the Mesopotamian based Assyrian Empire.

The 25th Dynasty's reunification of Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, and also Kush (Nubia) created the largest Egyptian empire since the New Kingdom. They assimilated into society by reaffirming Ancient Egyptian religious traditions, temples, and artistic forms, while introducing some unique aspects of Kushite culture. It was during the 25th dynasty that the Nile valley saw the first widespread construction of pyramids (many in modern Sudan) since the Middle Kingdom.

After the Assyrian kings Sargon II and Sennacherib defeated attempts by the Nubian kings to gain a foothold in the Near East, their successors Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal invaded Egypt and defeated and drove out the Nubians. War with Assyria resulted in the end of Kushite power in Northern Egypt and the conquest of Egypt by Assyria.

They were succeeded by the Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt, initially a puppet dynasty installed by and vassals of the Assyrians, the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest.

In 2003, a Swiss archaeological team working in northern Sudan uncovered one of the most remarkable Egyptological finds in recent years. At the site known as Kerma, near the third cataract of the Nile, archaeologist Charles Bonnet and his team discovered a ditch within a temple from the ancient city of Pnoubs, which contained seven monumental black granite statues.

The statues were found in a pit in Kerma, south of the Third Cataract of the Nile. The seven statues, which stood between 130 to 270 cm tall, were inscribed with the names of five of Nubia's kings: Taharqa, Tanoutamon, Senkamanisken, Anlamani, and Aspelta. Taharqa and Tanoutamon ruled Egypt as well as Nubia. Sometimes known as the 'Black Pharaohs', Nubian kings ruled Egypt from circa 760 BC - 660 BC

On the lid of the inner coffin Ta-khennu's hair is dressed in the so-called Hathor-hairstyle which is rather unusual for this period. On the upper picture she is being introduced to Osiris, god of the Underworld, and Re, the sun god, at the weighing of the heart. This part of the coffin is mostly in very good condition.

The lid of the outer coffin (centre) is very damaged. On top of the mummy was placed a protective net of beads which today has almost disappeared. Only the scarab, scraps of some bead hieroglyphs, and the faint imprint of the network reveal that they once existed.

There are three sections on this round-topped stela. A winged sun-disk with uraei, the figure of the sacred serpent, an emblem of sovereignty depicted on the headdress of ancient Egyptian rulers and deities, appears below a curved border at the top. In the middle there is a scene beneath a sky-sign decorated with stars. The deceased Takhennu stands on the right with her arms raised in adoration before an altar on which rests a water-pot cooled by a lotus-blossom.

Behind stand Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, and the four sons of Horus. Seven lines of text in the bottom section contain a prayer to Osiris, Geb, Atum, Ptah-Sokar, Anubis, and Osiris-Wennufer on behalf of Takhennu.

Sycomore fig wood stela of Horakhbit: this round-topped stela is bordered by a curved sky-sign at the top and a was-sceptre on each side. Below the sky is a winged sun-disk with uraei flanked by 'wedjat'-eyes. On the left stands Ra, while the deceased stands on the right. Between them is an altar with offerings above which are three lines of text, naming the offerings.

Circa 725 BC - 675 BC.

The stela has been gouged in many places and has flaked around the edges. The background of the stela is white. There is a slight yellow margin on three sides and large red border at the bottom with an upper blue edge. The sky-sign is blue and the sceptres are green. The disk is red with yellow uraei. The upper wings of the disk are yellow with blue dots and a blue upper edge; the middle are white with black lines, blue decoration, often faded to grey, and a red lower edge; the lower are green with feathers delineated in black, yellow at each end, and a red lower edge in the centre. The 'wedjat'-eyes are blue with a black pupil on white.

There is a red band between eye and eyebrow and a yellow band below and to one side of the eye. The god has a red disk with a yellow uraeus. His wig and body are blue. His face is white with a red eye on yellow, green cheek, red poll, and black beak. His collar and bangles are yellow; his upper garment green; his kilt yellow and green with a blue sash and yellow and green tail. His 'ankh'-sign is blue and his sceptre is green.

The deceased has a red body, blue collar and bangles, yellow garment, black wig and eye, red fillet, and red and green cone. The altar is blue with a yellow top and red and blue offerings. The loaf and vase beneath are blue and red respectively. The hieroglyphs are blue. Plaster still remains on the sides and back of the stela.

The stela is typical of the small wooden funerary stelae placed in Theban tombs of the period. The scene shows the dead man before the sun-god Ra-Horakhty.

In ancient Egypt it was customary, with few exceptions, to equip women for the hereafter somewhat less strictly than was the norm for men. This is clearly reflected in the coffin of Tarekap. Even though all the coffin components have been manufactured with high quality materials, the decoration is limited to a small number of images. Both the lid and the coffin case of the inner coffin were entirely covered with texts from the Book of the Dead. This is followed by detailed genealogical data with a list of dead relatives.

Since these wooden coffins are from the tomb of the Amun priest Paestenfi (ÄM 52/01), this membership of the deceased in the Theban upper class is not surprising. The coffin of Tarekap bears inscriptions giving her the title of 'the veiled', a reference to her status as a priest's wife. Together with the sign of Ankh, a symbol which stands for continuation of life in the hereafter, even the base of the coffin cover was decorated with hieroglyphic signs.

The iconographic equipment of the coffin lid was kept largely conventional. From the middle of the coffin cover are five paired depictions, which, apart from the four Horus sons, show two manifestations of the god Anubis, the divinities Geb and Nut, and two Udjat or Wedjat eyes - a division typical of this time. The representations of the winged goddesses Nut and Isis at the crest as well as in the foot of the coffin were common motifs.

In contrast to the rather inconspicuous representations and the black hieroglyphs on a white background, however, there are some colour accents, especially in the upper half of the mummy-shaped coffin. A fine accessory depicts the depiction of the dead in the chest area painted like a vignette. The body of Tarekap lies on a stretcher under a radiant sun as a sign of her further life in the beyond. In addition to the colourful flower collar, the sarcophagus, above all, the green painted face surrounded by a black wig gives a remarkable appearance - with regard to the god of the underworld Osiris a symbol of regeneration.

Statuette of a kneeling Kushite king with a sub-Egyptian crown, sacrificing wine in globular vessels

225 x 70 x 90 mm.

The statuette depicts a kneeling king with a lower Egyptian crown, with the uraeus snake on his forehead. In addition, the figure depicted bears the king's beard and a three-piece, pleated robe, a short skirt called a Schendit. In the hands stretched out in front of the body he holds two nw-pots, named after the hieroglyph nw () which depicts a spherical pot.

These statuettes usually belonged to an ensemble, in which the founder kneels before a deity and presents these sacrifices. The figures could be connected by a base. An indication that this object was part of a group is given by the two pins below the knees and toes, which would have served for anchoring to a pedestal. Such objects were presumably donated as gifts to temples.

This cartonnage shows, on the right, Anubis, the jackal-headed god, weighing the heart of the deceased, an important test for entry to the afterlife. In the center are the Four Sons of Horus, who protected specific mummified organs of the body. On the left, the deceased kneels and plays musical instruments before the symbol of the god Osiris.

This mummy’s name, Gautseshenu, means 'bouquet of lotuses'. The Egyptian word seshen (lotus) is the origin of the name Susan. She was from a prominent family of Egyptian priests, and the brightly colored 'cartonnage' or coffin made of linen and resin, was discovered near the city of Luxor in southern Egypt. Her coffin has never been opened.

The young woman was at least 16 years old and stood about 4 feet 6 inches, 137 cm tall.

The mummy is covered with a bead coverlet, presumably a symbol of heaven. The shroud that lies beside the mummy was manufactured in 2006 by the Te Papa museum in New Zealand, in deference to the human remains of Keku that were exhibited there. According to Maori beliefs, the shroud is a symbol and carrier of life, love, care and respect.

Note that no attempt has been made to create a face from the beads, as was the case with the bead coverlet of Peftjauneith. Keku's bead coverlet is much larger, covering most of the body, and near the head is the symbol of a scarab.

In ancient Egyptian religion, the sun god Ra is seen to roll across the sky each day, transforming bodies and souls. Beetles of the Scarabaeidae family (dung beetle) roll dung into a ball as food and as a brood chamber in which to lay eggs that are later transformed into larvae. For these reasons the scarab was seen as a symbol of this heavenly cycle and of the idea or rebirth or regeneration. The Egyptian god Khepri, Ra as the rising sun, was often depicted as a scarab beetle or as a scarab beetle-headed man. The ancient Egyptians believed that Khepri renewed the sun every day before rolling it above the horizon, then carried it through the other world after sunset, only to renew it, again, the next day.

(Note that two identifications have been given for this mummy. I would be glad if I could clear up the confusion. The dates are the same, the descriptions are the same for both Keku and Inamonnefnebu. Perhaps Keku is the person and Inamonnefnebu is the place where it was found? Keku or Kekoe is listed on the catalogue as Egypt Item number: AMM 1-d - Don )

Mummy of Inamonnefnebu 700 BC - 650 BC Length 155 cm.

The mummy has been wrapped in a shroud of a vaguely reddish colour. There is a wide gap along the centre of the back, through which one can see the regular transverse bandages of the layer underneath. The shroud is held in place by a number of straps of folded linen: around the head, hips, knees, and just above the ankles, with the diagonal bands of a stola over the torso. There are three windings of a broad bandage around the insteps, with one loop passing under the soles of the feet, likewise over the shroud.

On top of the shroud lies a bead net which is 151 cm long and 51.5 cm wide. It is mainly composed of blue faience cylinder beads (0.6. cm long), forming rhomboid cells, with blue twin rings on the crossings. The upper edge of the net has been reinforced with a triple border of ring beads, forming alternating strips of red, white, and blue. The lower edge has a fringe with tufts of two cylinders and a twin ring each.

The following elements of bead mosaic have been worked into the bead net: a winged scarab on the throat, a collar on the chest consisting of alternating ranges of blue and red cylinder beads, a winged goddess on the abdomen, four antithetic Sons of Horus on the thighs and a column of text on the lower legs. The hieroglyphs read: ‘An offering which the King gives to Osiris, Lord of Aby[dos], may he grant a good burial.’

'Unfortunately, we do not know who excavated Keku and when, but it must have been a local agent in Upper-Egyptian Thebes / Luxor, working for one of the great diplomats-collectors around 1825 - perhaps the Italian, Piccinini, who appears to have worked for Giovanni d'Anastasi,' said Dr Maarten Raven, the curator of the museum's Egyptian department.

'Giovanni d'Anastasi, a merchant in Alexandria and consul-general for Sweden, sold his collection of almost 6000 Egyptian objects to the Leiden Museum in 1828. Keku was among these objects.'

Garments from the mummy of the 'Leader of the chorus of Karnak', Di-Mut-shep-n-ankh. The tunics and the shawl are of varying quality, but they all have almost identical indigo-blue selvedges and a unique, embroidered edging at the neck and armholes.

Also in this image are examples of sandals, kept in place by a strap between the toes. Closed shoes did not exist. Wickerwork and leather, ca 1000 BC.

Many of these figures contain a funerary papyrus, including a book of the dead. Others contain random old official documents, since few people could read, and the deception would never be uncovered. The papyrus documents were contained either within the statue itself, or in a lidded cavity in the box on which the statue often stood.

These figures, each with the feather crown of the god of resurrection Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, sometimes contain a 'corn mummy', symbol of new life. Egyptians wished to secure everlasting life by binding their fate to the sun, being reborn every morning, or to Osiris, dead and buried as a mummy, but resurrected to life in the Underworld.

During annual rituals honouring Osiris, the ancient Egyptians fashioned small 'corn mummies' from a mixture of clay, sand, and grains of emmer wheat. These 'mummies' were wrapped in layers of bandages and placed in coffins decorated with images of the falcon god Sokar. The clay/seed mixture was watered before the funeral, so that the grains sprouted in the darkness of the tomb as a symbol of new life.
The Egyptians considered corn (emmer wheat) as being a living element of a natural cycle embodying the concept of resurrection and renewal. This concept was crucial to the worship of Osiris, who died and was resurrected as lord of the dead.

Ptah-Sokar-Osiris was a funerary god, 'born' out of the association of three originally separate gods, all connected with rebirth. Ptah, the creator god of Memphis, and the funerary god Sokar of Saqqara (the necropolis of Memphis) were already linked in the Old Kingdom. A third god, Osiris, was later added because he also was a funerary god. This resulted in the god Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. In ancient Egypt three was the number of plurality; compare also the triads of deities, developing from the New Kingdom onwards.
In many tombs of the Late Period statuettes of this god were found, showing the god in the shape of a mummy, with a human head or the head of a falcon, usually wearing a crown with ram's horns, standing on a base and sometimes with a small crouching falcon in front of him on the base, facing him.

In the statuette or in its base a funerary papyrus was sometimes hidden, often a copy of the Book of the Dead but also other texts, such as the Amduat or – surprisingly – discarded administrative documents; the latter were apparently sold to the owner as funerary manuscripts; since only a small percentage of the Egyptians could read, this deceit usually was not detected. It may seem strange that someone illiterate bought a funerary papyrus, but the texts on these were believed to be magically working anyway, just by being there.

Horus sculpture on the lid of the wooden outer coffin of the Prophet of Montu Hor.

Horus was one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities. He was most commonly depicted as a falcon, or a man with a falcon head. Horus served many functions, most notably being the god of the sky, war and hunting.

Anubis sculpture on the lid of the wooden outer coffin of the Prophet of Montu Hor.

Anubis is the Greek name of a god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depicted as a canine or a man with a canine head.
Like many ancient Egyptian deities, Anubis assumed different roles in various contexts. One of his prominent roles was as a god who ushered souls into the afterlife. He attended the weighing scale during the 'Weighing of the Heart,' in which it was determined whether a soul would be allowed to enter the realm of the dead.
Anubis was depicted in black, a color that symbolized both rebirth and the discoloration of the corpse after embalming.

Shabti-box for the Priest of Montu, Hor, Son of Ankhhor and Karoma, grandson of Iwf-aw, made of wood, covered with plaster, painted white and green-blue, rectangular in form, floorless, extended, curved top, shorter sides.

Shabtis or Ushabtis were funerary figurines used in Ancient Egypt. Shabtis were placed in tombs among the grave goods and were intended to act as servants or minions for the deceased, should he/she be called upon to do manual labor in the afterlife.

The figurines frequently carried a hoe on their shoulder and a basket on their backs, implying they were intended to farm for the deceased. They usually carried hieroglyphs, typically found on the legs. Called 'answerers', they carried inscriptions asserting their readiness to answer the gods' summons to work.

The practice of using ushabtis originated in the Old Kingdom (c. 2600 to 2100 BCE) with the use of life-sized reserve heads made from limestone, which were buried with the mummy. Most ushabtis were of minor size, and many produced in multiples – they sometimes covered the floor around a sarcophagus. Exceptional ushabtis are of larger size, or produced as a one of-a-kind master work.

Produced in huge numbers, ushabtis, along with scarabs, are the most numerous of all ancient Egyptian antiquities to survive.

Cartonnage mummy-case of Hor, the innermost coffin which holds the mummy.

The mummy is of a man of middle age. The mummy is wrapped in linen, and has a cartonnage mummy-case and painted wooden coffin. Both are inscribed with the name Hor.

Skull - Most of the upper teeth are missing and the incisors are very worn. Artificial eyes in the orbits; the right is displaced. The cervical spine appears intact.

Thorax and Abdomen - Filled with dense packing material. A scarab lies above the level of the upper lumbar vertebrae. The dorsal and lumbar inter-vertebral discs are partially opaque. No fractures or ribs or spinal column. Pelvis and hips normal. Circumcision has apparently been performed.

Arms - Extended. Hands with extended fingers in the pubic area. Legs - No fractures or dislocations. The knee cartilages are opaque. No lines of arrested growth.

A dense mummiform figure, just under 8 inches long, between the femoral shafts, is visible on the plate.

Cartonnage mummy-case of Hor, as above, and the mummy within it. The Hor coffin and mummy probably dates to the Twenty-second Dynasty (about 945-715 BC). The coffin is inscribed with the name of Hor.

X-rays taken of Hor's body in the 1960s suggest that he was middle-aged, but no obvious fractures or medical conditions have so far been observed. The X-ray did reveal that he had been circumcised. As was common practice in mummification, artificial eyes were placed in the eye sockets, and the arms were extended with the hands placed in the pubic area.

After the X-ray, a small mummiform figurine was noticed among the bandages. It was removed in the 1960s, and examined in the Museum's research laboratory in the 1990s; the figure is made of clay with straw, and inside it is a very small cylindrical object, the identity of which remains mysterious.

The mummy of this woman illustrates the method of wrapping employed in the 25th Dynasty. The outer shroud was originally dyed a salmon-pink colour. It is held in place by transverse bands and vertical strips (originally light brown and dark purple respectively). Over this is laid a network of tubular faience beads and a winged scarab beetle of mosaic beadwork.

CAT scans show that Takhebkhenem lies with her arms extended. The skeleton is in good condition, and all the teeth are present, but very little soft tissue remains on the bones. Large quantities of packing material, perhaps dried mud or earth, are visible inside the body cavity. Length: 154 cm.

Thorax and Abdomen - Ribs, vertebral column, pelvis, and hips normal. No fractures or dislocations. A large cylindrical mass of solidified resin, which appears to have been divided into four parts, occupies the right side of the body cavity, and a smaller, single, reniform mass is in the left side of the abdomen.

The resin, which was fluid when introduced, formed four pools which afterwards solidified. The pelvis has been filled with a round mass of packing. Above the large pack is a ball of linen, and probably sawdust as often in mummies of this period.

Arms - Extended. Hands with extended fingers and their palmar surfaces on the anterior aspect of the thighs.

Legs - Bones and joints appear normal. There is a considerable quantity of linen packing between the thighs, possibly containing the viscera, as often in mummies of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty.

Culture/period: 26th Dynasty ( note the discrepancy in dates between the card at the museum and the online web resource. Other sources simply date it 'Late Period', which is in concord with the 26th Dynasty date estimate. I would be grateful if any reader could clear this up for me - Don )

(left) Map of significant sites in Egypt and Nubia during the Napatan period, about 800 BC - 300 BC.

The Napatan Period

Three centuries after the New Kingdom pharaohs relinquished their Nubian territories, a powerful state rose to prominence in Upper Nubia. The important religious centre, Napata, gives its name to the period which includes a unique phase when Kushite kings also occupied the Egyptian throne.

The origins of the kingdom lie in the centuries following the withdrawal of the Egyptian imperial administration around 1070 BC. The rulers were of Kushite ancestry but had adopted many of the trappings of Egyptian culture, including pharaonic titles and regalia, and a devotion to the Egyptian deity, Amun.

From the reign of King Piye, about 747-716 BC, to the mid-7th century BC, five rulers of the Kushite line held sway over both Nubia and Egypt. Under their regime, Egypt enjoyed a cultural and political revival, participating more actively in foreign affairs and enjoying increased artistic productivity. Assyrian invasions eventually forced the Nubian kings out of Egypt, but their descendants continued to rule over a still powerful and independent kingdom in Nubia.

The Nubians

Nubia appears to have supported only a small population compared to that of Egypt. The ancient Nubians shared a broadly common ethnic background with the Egyptians, but their physical characteristics showed variations of skin colour, physiognomy and skeletal proportion. The distinctive features and the elaborate costume of the Nubians were carefully represented by Egyptian artists.

In Egyptian art Nubians can be easily recognised by their dark skin, feathers worn in the hair, large earrings and leopard - skin kilts. The languages spoken by the Egyptians and Nubians were different, Ancient Egyptian belonging to the Afro-Asiatic group and Nubian to the Nilo-Saharan family.

( note that the dates for Harwa are problematical. The museum card in the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Neues Museum, Germany, places the sculpture in the 26th Dynasty, and gives it the date of circa 500 BC, i.e. in the 27th Dynasty; while the British Museum gives the date as the 25th Dynasty, and unfortunately there is no mention of it in the Berlin online catalog. Certainly there are often difficulties of interpretation because of duplication of names from one century to the next in Ancient Egyptian Dynasties, but this seems to be the one person, so far as I can tell. In addition, Lichtheim (1980) gives the date of this particular object in the Berlin Museum as coming from the 25th Dynasty, so I have placed it here, despite the later date given on the card in the Berlin Museum - Don )

A block statue of the chief steward Harua / Harwa, 487 mm high. It is one of eight known statues of Harwa, the High Steward of the ' Divine Consort of Amun ', Amenirdis, daughter of King Kashta. Under the Nubian kings of the 25th Dynasty the office of ' Divine Consort of Amun ' at Thebes became especially prominent. Exercised by a king's daughter, and transmitted to a female successor by adoption, the position of ' High Priestess of Amun ' ensured the king's control over the Theban region.

The chief official of the ' Divine Consort ' who bore the title ' High Steward ' was an important personality in the administration. The prominence achieved by the Divine Consorts and by their High Stewards was also a corollary of the declining significance of the office of High Priest, or ' First Prophet of Amun ' in the Nubian and Saite periods.

Taking advantage of instability and political disunity in Egypt, the Kushite King Piye launched an invasion about 728 BC. His successor, Shabaqo, achieved complete control about 716 BC, and he and his three successors, Shabitqo, Taharqo, and Tanutamani, were acknowledged as the legitimate sovereigns of Egypt, forming the 25th Dynasty.

The kings resided chiefly at Memphis, one of the principal cities of Egypt, and Kushite princesses were appointed to the religious office of 'God's Wife of Amun', a policy which gave the royal family firm control of Thebes.

The 25th Dynasty rulers brought Egypt much needed stability and increased political prestige. They fostered a revival of art, architecture and religious learning, drawing inspiration from the great eras of Egypt's past.

Taharqo was an active builder, constructing a number of temples in both Egypt and Nubia. Between 674 and 663 BC Assyrian invasions forced the Kushites to abandon Egypt. Taharqo was compelled to flee back to Nubia, where he died in 664 BC. An attempt by Tanutamani to retake Egypt was unsuccessful and he spent the rest of his reign in Nubia.

Taharqa was the son of Piye, the Nubian king of Napata who had first conquered Egypt. Taharqa was also the cousin and successor of Shebitku.[3] The successful campaigns of Piye and Shabaka paved the way for a prosperous reign by Taharqa.

Taharqa's reign can be dated from 690 BC to 664 BC, a little over 26 years. Evidence for the dates of his reign is derived from the Serapeum stela, catalog number 192. This stela records that an Apis bull born and installed (fourth month of Peret, day 9) in Year 26 of Taharqa died in Year 20 of Psammetichus I (4th month of Shomu, day 20), having lived 21 years.

The king kneels to present an offering to a god. He wears the double uraeus, a cap-like headdress and necklace with rams' head pendants typical of depictions of Napatan kings. An incised inscription on the belt has been read as the name of Taharqo.

Gebel Barkal (or Jebel Barkal ) is a very small mountain located some 400 km north of Khartoum, in Karima town in Northern State in Sudan, on a large bend of the Nile River, in the region called Nubia. The mountain is 98 m tall, has a flat top, and apparently was used as a landmark by the traders in the important route between central Africa, Arabia, and Egypt, as the point where it was easier to cross the great river.

It was a religious centre and the seat of Amin. Beginning in the 26th Dynasty, Nubian rulers built many temples at the foot of its slopes.

A finely worked statue of grey granite, 500 mm high. Montemhet is seated on a chair with arms folded, and enveloped in a long mantle. The face is youthful. The stone block representing the chair is inscribed on all four sides. In addition, a column of text runs down the centre of the mantle, and the back plinth is inscribed in two columns. The style of the statue is derived from Middle Kingdom prototypes.

The documentation for the high officials of Upper Egypt in the Post-Imperial epoch is relatively rich. They built sumptuous tombs on the west bank of Thebes and placed quantities of their statues in the temples. Many of these statues escaped destruction through the ironic fact that, contrary to the wishes of their owners, they were periodically removed from the temples and buried in the ground, to be dug up only at the beginning of the 20th Century. Thus we can build up dossiers and compile genealogies.

The inscriptions of Montemhet typify this situation. Coming from a family of Theban notables, Montemhet played a leading role during many troubled years. He was ' Count of Thebes ', and ' Governor of Upper Egypt ', as well as ' Fourth Prophet of Amun ' under the Nubian kings Taharqa and Tantamani, and he was still in office in the reign of Psamtik I, the founder of the Saite Dynasty. His career spans the half century from 700 BC to 650 BC. He witnessed the recurring Assyrian invasions, including the climactic capture of Thebes in 663 BC, an event that reverberated around the ancient world. After that, with King Tantamani having fled to Nubia and Psamtik I not yet in control of all of Egypt, the Thebaid was virtually autonomous under the governance of Montemhet and of his colleagues, the high stewards of the Divine Consort of Amun, the princess Shepenupet II. And when Psamtik I had attained full power he still retained the services of the aged Montemhet.

In the later periods of Egypt's history, the role of Divine Wife of Amun was held at Thebes by the king's daughter and was designed to prevent the emergence of a rival to the king. Montemhet (who was the Fourth Prophet in the Temple of Amun at Karnak), managed to gain considerable practical if not outright political power at Thebes, at the side of the Divine Wife Shepenopet II, who was King Piankhy's daughter and the successor of Amenardis I as the God's Wife.

Egypt was currently passing through troubled times and the Ethiopian rulers were in combat with the Assyrian forces in Egypt during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty. Montemhet was mentioned in the Rassam cylinder of Ashurbanipal as 'King of Thebes', but although he undoubtedly wielded considerable influence there, no evidence indicates that he attempted outright to seize royal power. He came from a distinguished family (his grandfather was Vizier), and he built extensively at Thebes. He was a dutiful subject: a scene in the Temple of Mut at Karnak shows him, with his father and son, following the figure of King Taharka as they worship the goddess Mut. Nevertheless in the accompanying inscription, he takes full credit for the programme of construction and repair of the divine buildings which customarily would have been ascribed to the king's own initiative.

Montemhet's tomb, one of the largest private tombs in the Theban Necropolis (no. 34), is located in front of Deir el Bahri and is currently under restoration.

The figure, made of ivory, shows an unclothed woman standing with narrow, parallel legs on a small base. On her head she wears a beaded wig, whose strands end just above the breast. On the wig have been sculpted large ears with ear holes, which still carry silver remnants of earrings. The broad, round face, which passes into a short neck, contains finely detailed small eyes, with eyebrows. The nose is broad and flat, the lips large and full. The arms are attached to the sides of the body and the large hands lie on the round thighs.

She has hemispherical breasts and a high waist that transitions to wide hips. From the sternum to the large navel, the linea alba (a fibrous structure that runs down the midline of the abdomen) is hinted at. A large, painted triangle forms the pubic triangle. The knees are shown and there is a gap between the knees. The pillar-like calves pass into the feet with long toes, without noticeable definition at the ankle.

Above the round buttocks, small dimples are formed.

The figurine was found in the tomb of Tadja in the necropolis of Abusir el-Meleq.

From the rich grave inventory of Tadja from Abusir el-Meleq also comes this small jewellery box made of blue faience. It has a domed, removable lid and a rectangular box with four rectangular feet. The two parts are decorated with incised decorations and completely covered with a dark blue glaze. All image fields are framed by double lines. On the front of the box and the lid, each one decorated with a rosette knob is attached.

In the picture field on the front of the box, two females with Sistrums (frame rattles) flank a central, tapering papyrus column. Two papyrus plants are shown in front of the legs of the two sistrum players. Similarly, in the middle of the back of the box an upwardly tapering papyrus column, symmetrically mirrored to each side of a papyrus plant and a flying water bird are shown. The papyrus capital is consciously worked out semi-plastically and serves as a support surface for the hinge of the lid. Following the same decoration scheme, a papyrus column and flanking, stylised papyrus umbels adorn the two narrow sides of the box. Above the central papyrus column a transverse rectangular hole is inserted. Furthermore, the top of the lid is divided by the framing double lines into two rectangular image fields. Four stylised, upright standing papyrus umbels and three circles decorate the two display surfaces of the lid. The two gable-shaped fields on the narrow sides of the cover are decorated with cross-hatching.

The ornamentation of the jewelry box is striking, with the dominance of the motifs associated with the papyrus plant. The papyrus plant is at the same time the hieroglyph and symbol of 'green', 'thriving' and thus a salvific (salvation) sign. In addition to decorative purposes it could be attributed here an apotropaic (protection against evil) function. Furthermore, the papyrus is the coat of arms of Lower Egypt. The particular emphasis of the papyrus on the object may also be related to its origins in the Lower Egyptian town of Abusir el-Meleq.

Amenirdis, daughter of King Kasha, was the first female member of the Nubian royal family to be appointed to the office of 'God's Wife of Amun' at Thebes. She was adopted by Shepenupet I as her heir and successor. She went on to rule as high priestess, and is has been shown in several artefacts from the period.

Amenirdis was a Kushite princess, the daughter of Pharaoh Kashta and Queen Pebatjma. She is likely to have been the sister of pharaohs Shabaka and Piye. Kashta arranged to have Amenirdis I adopted by the Divine Adoratrice of Amun, Shepenupet I, at Thebes as her successor. This shows that Kashta already controlled Upper Egypt prior to the reign of Piye, his successor.

Amenirdis ruled as high priestess approximately between 714 BC and 700 BC, under the reigns of Shabaka and Shabataka, and she adopted Piye's daughter Shepenupet II as her successor. She also held the priestly titles of Divine Adoratrice of Amun and God's Hand. Upon her death, she was buried in a tomb in the grounds of Medinet Habu.

Shepenupet I was an ancient Egyptian high priestess during the reign of the 23rd Dynasty. She was the first 'hereditary' God's Wife or Divine Adoratrice of Amun to wield political power in ancient Thebes and its surrounding region.

Shepenupet I was the first to take on complete royal titulary with names in two cartouches, and although her successors followed her example, she remained the only one who also bore the royal titles 'Lord of the Two Lands' and 'Lord of Appearances', also, the only one whose throne name refers to Amun, not to his wife Mut.

Shepenupet I was the daughter of Osorkon III and Queen Karoadjet, and the (half- )sister of Takelot III and Rudamun. She was God's Wife during her father's whole reign.

When Kashta, a monarch of the 25th Dynasty, extended his influence to the Theban area, Shepenupet I was compelled to adopt Kashta's daughter Amenirdis I as her successor and name her as her chosen heir. Shepenupet and Amenirdis are depicted together in Wadi Gasus.

(10) Shabti box of Bakenrenef - The owner gives a shabti to a seated god. The lid shows a ship which carries the sun god through the sky and the underworld.

Bakenrenef or Bakenranef was an Egyptian Vizier of the North (Lower Egypt) during the reign of Psamtik I (664 BC – 610 BC) of the 26th Dynasty. Like Khaemwaset several centuries before, he bore the title of Iunmutef, 'Cleaner of the Great House'. His father was a mayor called Padineit, while his mother was a certain Tageb.

Wood; Thebes / Luxor ca 700-600 BC, 25th - 26th Dynasty

(11) Shabti box of Setywy - On the lid are again the ships which sail the sun god through the sky and the underworld. The box is in the shape of a coffin with corner-posts, characteristic of the period.
Wood; Thebes / Luxor ca 700-600 BC, 25th - 26th Dynasty

(12) Shabtis of Pamel - Shabtis from this period are poorly finished mass production pieces. Often there were 400 per deceased: one for each day of the year plus supervisors for every ten workers.

Padiiset (the German spelling for General Pedi-Esi) is given the range of dates 728 BC - 700 BC by BarquinDev.

He is further described by this source as Prince of Athribis and Heliopolis, in the South of the Egyptian delta. Padiiset was the successor of Bakennefy II and the predecessor of Bakennefy III, who was his son.

Senkamanisken was a Nubian king who ruled from 640 to 620 BCE at Napata. He used titles based on those of the Egyptian pharaohs. He was married to Queen Nasalsa who bore him two sons: Anlamani and Aspelta. Both sons would ultimately assume the Nubian/Kushite throne after his death at Napata, Nubia's capital city. His pyramid is Nu. 3 in Nuri.

More is known about him and his reign than most of the rulers of Kush. He left several stelae carved with accounts of his reign. He was the son of Senkamanisken and brother of Anlamani, who immediately preceded him.

According to his inscriptions, Aspelta was selected as ruler by a committee of twenty-four religious and military leaders. He then set out north to Napata to be selected as king by the gods and crowned. Another stele that might date from Aspelta's reign recounts how a group of priests were put to death, likely for conspiring against the king. In 592 BC, Kush was invaded by an Egyptian military expedition initiated by Pharaoh Psamtik II, perhaps because Aspelta posed a threat to this pharaoh's authority over Upper Egypt. The invaders sacked Napata, and some historians believe that because of this attack, Aspelta decided to move the Nubian capital to the more secure city of Meroe.

Aspelta's tomb was located at Nuri and is the second largest burial structure here. His tomb was excavated by George A. Reisner in 1916 and many items were discovered within it, most of which are now in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The palace built by him and his brother was excavated by Reisner in 1920.

Statues of Senkamanisken have been found buried or hidden in the Jebel Barkal, presumably due to Psamtik II's attack on Kush in 592 BC. A sphinx has also been found which was inscribed with his name. Objects bearing the name of this king have also been found in Meroë indicating that he placed a degree of importance to this site which would be the political capital of the Kushite kingdom after Psamtik II's sack of Napata in 592 BC.

The was ('power, dominion') sceptre is a symbol that appeared often in relics, art, and hieroglyphics associated with the ancient Egyptian religion. It appears as a stylised animal head at the top of a long, straight staff with a forked end.

Was sceptres were used as symbols of power or dominion, and were associated with the gods (such as Set or Anubis) as well as with the pharaoh. Was sceptres also represent the Typhonic beast or Set-animal (the mascot of the Egyptian deity Set). In later use, it was a symbol of control over the force of chaos that Set represented.

In a funerary context the was sceptre was responsible for the well-being of the deceased, and was thus sometimes included in the tomb equipment or in the decoration of the tomb or coffin. The sceptre is also considered an amulet. The Egyptians perceived the sky as being supported on four pillars, which could have the shape of the was. This sceptre was also the symbol of the fourth Upper Egyptian nome, the nome of Thebes (called Waset in Egyptian).

The necklace with three pendants in the form of rams' heads is depicted in many representations of Kushite rulers of the Napatan Period. The headdress originally included feathers, perhaps made of another material. The eyes were originally inlaid.

The copper-alloy objects on display here were excavated in 2009 and 2011 within the cemetery at Kawa in Northern Sudan, the site of an important Egyptian and Kushite town occupied from at least 1350 BC until AD 350. The excavations by the Sudan Archaeological Research Society, in conjunction with the British Museum, are currently part of the Qatar-Sudan Archaeological Project. They will be returned in the near future to the Sudan National Museum in Khartoum for permanent curation and display. Made in Kush, the offering table and beaker are highly unusual and testify to the skill of local metalworkers and of their innovative designs.

The town at Kawa was probably founded by the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaton but the earliest building is a temple built a little later during the reign of Tutankhamen. Another large temple on the site was constructed on the orders of Taharqo, the most famous of the Kushite rulers who conquered and controlled Egypt in the 8th and 7th centuries BC.

The tube has a disc at one end pierced by a hole. At the other is a disc to which was affixed the strainer with a domed lid pierced by small holes. The strainer is immersed into the liquid which is filtered as it passes into the container.

The thumb then seals the hole at the end of the tube forming a vacuum allowing the strainer to be withdrawn. On releasing the thumb the strained contents flow into another vessel.

Around the rim of this beaker runs a border consisting of stylised plant motifs. Below is a horizontal frieze of six compartments, each containing a figure of a mammiform deity squatting on its haunches interspersed with six brief hieroglyphic texts.

This offering table depicts in the lower part eight offering bread loaves. Above is a scene of the tomb owner moving left offering incense and a liquid libation to the god Osiris, behind whom stands a goddess, probably Isis.

This unique object with clear royal connotations must have belonged to a member of the Kushite elite, perhaps a prince of the royal house.

The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although others followed). The dynasty's reign (664 BC – 525 BC) is also called the Saite Period after the city of Sais, where its pharaohs had their capital, and marks the beginning of the Late Period of ancient Egypt.

26th Dynasty

Name

Horus (Throne) Name

Consort

Burial

Years

Dates

Comments

Psamtik I

Wahibre

Mehytenweskhet

Sais

54

664 BC - 610 BC

Manetho gives his reign as 54 years

Necho II

Wehemibre

Khedebneithirbinet I

15

610 BC - 595 BC

Psamtik II

Neferibre

Takhuit I

6

595 BC - 589 BC

Apries

Haaibre

19

589 BC - 570 BC

Manetho gives his reign as 19 years

Amasis II

Khnemibre

TentkhetaNakhtubasterau

Sais

44

570 BC - 526 BC

Herodotus claims that when Cambyses IIinvaded Egypt, realising he was not able to exactrevenge for Amasis's previous misdeeds andtrickery, he exhumed his body, desecrated itand burned what remained of the mummy.

Psamtik III

Ankhkaenre

1

526 BC - 525 BC

Table of 26th Dynasty Rulers, adapted from various sources, including Wikipedia.

26th Dynasty: 664 BC - 525 BC

Psamtik I

Sculptural ensemble of Psamtik I, his wife and son. Psamtik I (Psammetich) was the first ruler of the 26th Dynasty.

Necho I, the father of Psamtik by his queen Istemabet, died in 664 BC when the Kushite king Tantamani tried unsuccessfully to seize control of lower Egypt from the Assyrian Empire. After his father's death, Psamtik both united all of Egypt and freed it from Assyrian control within the first ten years of his reign.

Psamtik reunified Egypt in his ninth regnal year when he dispatched a powerful naval fleet in March 656 BC to Thebes and compelled the existing God's Wife of Amun at Thebes, Shepenupet II, to adopt his daughter Nitocris I as her heiress in the so-called Adoption Stela. Psamtik's victory destroyed the last vestiges of the Nubian Twenty-fifth Dynasty's control over Upper Egypt under Tantamani since Thebes now accepted his authority.

Nitocris would hold her office for 70 years from 656 BC until her death in 585 BC. Thereafter, Psamtik campaigned vigorously against those local princes who opposed his reunification of Egypt. One of his victories over certain Libyan marauders is mentioned in a Year 10 and Year 11 stela from the Dakhla Oasis.

Psamtik won Egypt's independence from the Assyrian Empire and restored Egypt's prosperity during his 54-year reign. The pharaoh proceeded to establish close relations with archaic Greece and also encouraged many Greek settlers to establish colonies in Egypt and serve in the Egyptian army. In particular, he settled some Greeks at Tahpanhes (Daphnae).

The Stele of Revealing. The funerary tablet of Ankh-af-na-khonsu, a 26th dynasty Theban priest.

Photo: Ashami
Text: Wikipedia
Permission: Public Domain

26th Dynasty: 664 BC - 525 BC

Kenhor, Priest of Min

Mummy cartonnage of Ken-Hor, coated with bitumen during the burial, circa 600 BC.

The innermost component of the coffin ensemble of Ken-Hor is the elaborately decorated mummy cover made of cardboard, in which the mummy was wrapped. A god beard is attached to the chin of the finely carved face. The eyes are well formed and painted. In addition, a technical peculiarity of the cardboard can be observed: normally, the mummy-shaped cardboard over a form for cutting the mummy was cut on the back and closed again. For ÄM 8500, however, the cardboard packaging was cut through at the sides, similar to a separate lid. The lateral gap was covered after insertion of the mummy from the stucco layer applied as paint.

Already in historical time, possibly as part of the burial ceremony, the cardboard was covered while lying down with a now black discoloured substance. Therefore, most of the decorations are covered and can be seen only in slightly raised relief. However, with the use of grazing light shots you can capture parts of the decorations and, moreover, the theological illustrations of the cardboard packaging.

On the front side, below the collar, there are seven horizontal stripes of images ending in the foot area with depictions of the god Upuaut in the form of two prone jackals. In the strip above, a djed pillar is flanked by two udjat eyes and sun-crowned consecrations. In the three middle strips of the picture are the Book of the Dead Vignettes, in which the supply of the mummy by Anubis, the death court, and the demonstration of the deceased before Osiris after the passed death court are represented.

The other surfaces of the cardboard are also adorned with representations to support the deceased in its transformation into the otherworldly life. Despite the black coating, the good quality of the painting of the mummy envelope of Ken-Hor is recognisable. These paintings include, for example, the representations of the animal-headed deities with knives from the Amduat (Book of the Underworld) on the back of the cardboard mummy cover, and the image of a running Apis bull as a protective symbol on the underside of the foot plate.

The coffin ensemble of the priest of Min, Ken-Hor, from Achmim, consists of the outer post coffin (ÄM 8497), two anthropomorphic coffins (ÄM 8498, ÄM 8499) and a mummy cover made of cardboard (ÄM 8500).

The outer post coffin of the Ken-Hor forms a chapel with corner posts and a domed lid. The shape of the coffin, which also ties in with the tomb chapel of Osiris, already provides the magical prerequisite for the protection and survival of the deceased. The inscriptions and representations of the coffin are also important elements for the otherworldly persistence of the deceased.

The decoration of the post coffin consists of two components. On the casket tray upright mummies are shown with gods beard in their shrines in front of illuminated grave entrances. The motif was taken from the third hour of the so-called Gates book. It is about the resurrection of the mummies by the light donation of the sun god when passing.

In addition, a vertical line of inscriptions with a prayer to Re-Harachte divides the domed lid into two oblong pictorial surfaces, into which the deceased enters, worshiping various deities. The hawks with sun disc and feather crown, which are usually put on the posts as wooden statuettes, are here painted on the four corners of the lid. The inscriptions describe the two hawks at the head area as the god Sopdu, and the other two at the foot as Horus. On the left of the inscription line, Ken-Hor is shown worshiping twice before Osiris. In the middle is Anubis in jackal shape on a shrine with the Abydos fetish as the centre, flanked on both sides by two Horus sons. To the right of the inscription ribbon, the sarong-owner in the middle prays to Anubis lying on a shrine, accompanied by three squatting gods on a shrine on the left side, as well as a hare-headed and a snake-headed god of the underworld on the right. On the right panel, the deceased is shown worshiping again before Ptah.
In addition, a lying jackal on one and a pair of Ujat eyes on the other decorate the narrow sides of the coffin lid. However, it is extremely unusual that the udjat eyes, which are usually oriented in the head direction of the mummy placed in the coffin, are shown here on the foot area. Whether there has been a mistake here, still needs to be investigated.

The kneeling figure shows the customs officer Nachthorheb, holding a shrine with a figure of the god Osiris. The flat back of the wig bears two vertical lines of inscription, the first to the goddess Neith, and two titles of the figure, which are designated as military officers at the court.

Like most Egyptian high officials of the Pharaonic Period, Nakhthorheb held many civil and religious offices simultaneously. Monuments in his name are conserved in Rome, London, Cairo, and Copenhagen. His various duties are listed on the back pillar of this statue, interspersed with grandiose titles: ' His Excellency the Unique Friend, Director of the Palace, Secretary of the House-of-the-Morning, Director of the Castles, Chief Lector-Priest, Officer to the Crown, Director of every Divine Function, Head of Magi in the House-of-Life ' etc. He lived during the reign of Psammetichus II (595 - 589 BC) in the 26th Dynasty. Egypt was ruled by native kings in those days, after a series of political setbacks: domination by Sudanese and Nubian rulers (25th Dynasty) and a cruel invasion by the Assyrians (in 666 BC). The Egyptian elite was thus in search of its roots.

In the field of art, reference is often made to the grandeur and simplicity of the heroic period of the Old and Middle Kingdoms. This quest for simplicity went beyond ancient models, and the archaistic trend became a style of its own. The facial type with its slightly receding rounded chin and gentle, inexpressive smile corresponds to a model that first appeared during the 26th Dynasty and remained in use until the Roman conquest.

From the Middle Kingdom onward, the public areas of certain temples contained small private chapels; consequently, more and more personalities were granted the privilege of having a statue of themselves in temple courtyards. This royal favour enabled them to enjoy the protective proximity of their divine patron. They were even presented with the leftovers from the god's table, which was garnished every day by the priests. The inscription around the base of the statue of Nakhthorheb tells us that it was placed in the temple of the god Thoth, ' lord of Hermopolis and Dendera ' and the great patron of writing. Nakhthorheb was therefore entrusted to the god's protection in his lifetime, and then for eternity.

The exterior surfaces are covered with painted stucco. The face is painted green, and Itineb wears a striped wig, on top of which is a figure of the goddess Nut. She wears a solar disc on her head and holds an ankh sign in each hand. Her wings are extended down the sides of the coffin face, over the stripes of the wig. On the breast is a large collar with terminals in the shape of falcon heads.

Below the collar are:

1. A central figure of the goddess Nut, kneeling, holding feathers and spreading her wings in protection over the coffin; at the extremities of the scene are kneeling figures of the goddesses Isis and Nephthys and two jackal figures.

2. Painted on a black background, a scene showing the judgement of Itineb. At right, his heart is weighed in a balance, and to the left of this he is conducted by Thoth and Anubis towards Osiris, who sits enthroned.

3. A single line of hieroglyphic text extending to the toes divides the lower body field. The inscription contains the 'hetep di nesu' offering formula. At each side are ten compartments, in each of which Itineb is depicted adoring a different deity. The associated texts explain that his various bodily members are identified with those of the deity depicted. On the foot of the coffin lid, in inverse orientation, are two images of Anubis as a jackal seated on a plinth, with texts above requesting offerings from the god. The feet of the coffin are supported by a rectangular plinth, the corners of which have been cut away.

The green face associates the dead man with Osiris. Below the collar are painted the winged goddess Nut, a scene showing the judgement of the deceased before Osiris, and twenty small vignettes, in each of which Itineb adores a different deity. The back of the coffin shows the Djed pillar, symbol of Osiris, equipped with human eyes and torso and grasping the crook and flail sceptres. Above, the sun-disc in a barque is raised up at dawn and received by the arms of the sky-goddess.

The back of the coffin is carved in high relief to represent a dorsal column running from the base of the wig to the foot. On this column is painted a djed pillar wearing an atef crown and provided with human eyes and torso, the hands grasping crook and flail sceptres. Above the djed is an image of a god raising the solar barque into the sky at dawn, worshipped by baboons. At each side of the dorsal column is a series of compartments containing figures of deities, some of them adored by Itineb. The interior of the coffin is undecorated; fragments of linen and blue faience beads adhere to the interior surface.

This is the inside of the Ancient Egyptian coffin for the mummy of Peftjauneith, 664 BC - 525 BC; the left image shows the sky goddess Nut, the sun, moon and stars and hours of day and night; the right shows the goddess of the West.

The mummy of Peftjauneith, inspector of temple estates in the Egyptian Nile delta, was found lying in this beautifully painted coffin. The decoration is an indication of his high function in society. The coffin is made of solid wood which must have cost a fortune in Egypt. Such beautiful timber had to be imported, for instance from the forests of the Lebanon. Moreover, the coffin is exquisitely painted in extraordinarily fine detail.

The inside of the lid features another picture of the celestial goddess Nut. Here she is represented as the nocturnal sky, black-skinned and strewn with stars. She gives birth to the moon crescent and is swallowing the round evening sun. She is flanked by the twelve hours of day and night. On the bottom of the coffin there is a picture of the goddess of the West, the quarter where the realm of the dead was thought to be.

The outside of the coffin shows how Peftjauneith was depicted in the guise of the god Osiris himself. This is indicated by the striated divine wig, the divine beard, and the green face (in Egypt green was the colour of vegetation and new life).

A splendid collar lies on the chest, with underneath a depiction of the sky goddess, Nut, with her outspread wings. A spell from the Book of the Dead has been written on the abdomen. Each individual hieroglyph is a self-contained picture full of detail.

It should be realised that these magnificent burial caskets, and the religion that was part and parcel of it, was something which applied only to the rich, to the elite, the ruling classes. The ordinary workers knew nothing of the religion, nor could they aspire to the excesses of the burial rituals and associated caskets and grave goods:

Excavating a shallow grave in sandy soil and getting a few rocks ready to cover the ground after the burial to protect the corpse from scavenging jackals was a matter of a few hours, performed close to the burial itself. Such tombs satisfied the needs of the vast majority of Egyptians throughout history.

Those who could afford it, may have preferred a more substantial tomb, built underground of mudbrick or even of stone. These were typically simple structures containing one or two small rooms, sometimes with a staircase for easy access. People aspiring to a genteel after-life-style beyond their means, bought at times themselves space in a neighbour's tomb:

List of valuables given to the owner of this tomb by Sebekhotep for burying his father in it:
Small barley: 2 sacks; emmer: 3 sacks; tigernuts; 1 sack; setep-cloth: 50 square cubits; axe: 1; wab-garment: 1
(Things) which Wamet has given to his father which he will give to whomever he wants to:
Small barley: 4 sacks; des-vessels: 2

But already in predynastic times such unimpressive graves did not satisfy the elite. The tomb itself became deeper, the superstructure more massive, culminating in the pyramids of the 4th dynasty. After the excesses of Khufu and his successors better judgment prevailed, and the tombs of subsequent kings and their families were more reasonably sized. Still, they required years of planning and execution at great expense.

After the Middle Kingdom the royals abandoned pyramids, opting instead for burials in graves cut into the living rock of the Upper Egyptian mountains. These tombs were at times similar to huge warrens with many passage ways and rooms, capable of accommodating large numbers of deceased family members. If the reason for hiding the burial places under mountains was to afford better protection from tomb robbers, then they were a sad disappointment: almost all the graves were broken into and robbed, sometimes only decades after they had been excavated.

Those who could afford it generally preferred to get their own tomb ready in time. The more substantial abodes of eternity could take years to build. The Old Kingdom companion of the house, the keeper of secrets, Mehi, wrote:

I made this tomb actually while I was alive and on my feet, as the favoured one of the king and beloved one of men; I paid the masons so that they were satisfied with it...

The figure is highly stylised and looks like a hieroglyph. The representation follows examples from the Old Kingdom, nearly 2000 years earlier. That makes this a fine example of the Egyptian Renaissance. Limestone, location unknown, ca 595-589 BC (26th Dynasty).

The 26th Dynasty was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although others followed). The dynasty's reign (664–525 BC) is also called the Saite Period after the city of Sais, where its pharaohs had their capital, and marks the beginning of the Late Period of ancient Egypt.

Hor-wedja was the son of Vizier Sasobek, the highest-ranking official during the reign of King Psammetichus I. Hor-wedja's son Meryptah commissioned this temple sculpture for him. Hor-wedja kneels, presenting only himself to his god. He abases himself in the deity's presence but keeps his head erect, expressing respect and confidence.

A hieroglyphic inscription gives the lineage and titles of Hor-wedja running in a horizontal band around the base, in a line across the top of the base and in a single vertical column on the back pillar. Hor-wedja kneels upon a rectangular base and his toes are splayed out in an unnatural way. He wears a belted shendyt kilt and a simple bag wig. The wide width of the wig is common for the Saite Period. The orientation of the wig onto the top of the back pillar is echoed in other sculptures from the 26th Dynasty through the reign of Apries.

As is characteristic for the period his image is quite idealised. The body appears strong but the definition of the musculature is subtle. A strong median line is visible. His hands are placed flat upon his thighs and appear unusually plump. His facial features are also typical for the Saite Period: long almond-shaped eyes with straight brows above, long smooth cheeks, a long straight nose and a softly smiling mouth. The statue is well preserved and the polish is only marred by a few minor nicks.

Circa 640 - 620 BC, made of graywacke, 375 x 113 x 198 mm.

Place of discovery: Memphis, Egypt (?)

(Translation):

His son, who makes his name live, the prophet-priest, the chief overseer of the estate, Mery-ptah;

An offering which he gives to Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, that he may give funerary offerings of bread, beer, oxen and fowl to the prophet-priest and leader of the houses, Hor-wedja;

The revered before Ptah-Sokar, the prophet-priest of Anubis of Ro-setaw, the leader of the houses (of Neith of Sais), the great one of the Two Lands, his beloved son, the priest of Neith...Hor-wedja. The revered before Hathor, the mistress of the Southern Sycamore, the prophet-priest, Hor-wedja, son of a man with the same titles, the prophet-priest of Ptah, the governor of the capital, the vizier, Sa-Sobek.

Below the collar Nut spreads her wings over Seshepenmehyt, and the scene of judgement and presentation to the gods is on the breast. In a small panel below, the Ba of the deceased is shown returning to the mummy, laid on its bier within the tomb, with canopic jars below. Otherwise the exterior of the coffin is dominated by blocks of inscriptions running vertically and laterally. These texts are written on backgrounds coloured alternately red and pale yellow.

The Twenty-sixth Dynasty of Egypt was the last native dynasty to rule Egypt before the Persian conquest in 525 BC (although others followed). The dynasty's reign (c. 685–525 BC) is also called the Saite Period after the city of Sais, where its pharaohs had their capital, and marks the beginning of the Late Period of ancient Egypt. In this period the great stone sarcophagi came back into use. This basalt sarcophagus belonged to Wahibreemakhet, a man of a Greek immigrant family.

The massive basalt sarcophagus of Wahibreemakhet is a typical expression of the Sais renaissance. Stone sarcophagi had become completely obsolete at the end of the New Kingdom; even the kings of the Third Intermediate Period made ​​do usually with usurped specimens from previous periods. Among the Renaissance kings However, we find a renewed production of huge granite or basalt coffins. They are clearly inspired by examples from the New Kingdom, though the stocky shape with wide flat faces, surrounded by heavy wigs, are in fact quite ungainly. By contrast, very sophisticated decoration with an almost metallic perfection could be realised in this hard material.

Wahibreemakhet's parents were Arkskares and Sentiti which are recognised Greek names. This sarcophagus will therefore have belonged to the son of a Greek immigrant family. The 26th dynasty maintained close contact with a number of Greek cities. Many Greeks took mercenary service in the Egyptian army and hoped to become a merchant in the capital Memphis (where an entire Greek quarter arose) or in the special free port Naukratis in the Delta.

Yet Wahibreemakhet betrays nothing in this case of his Greek descent. The decoration is thoroughly Egyptian, with his beard and severe wig, the sky goddess Noetop on the chest, and Horuszonenen and other gods and demons below. The sarcophagus probably comes from Giza and Saqqara, where at this time of tens of metres of deep shaft graves were dug. The casket would have contained a wooden inner coffin, which contained the mummy, which at this time were often provided with rich jewels and amulets. Of these, however, in this case, nothing is left. We do not have the shabtis of Wahibreemakhet.

According to the Greek historian Herodotus, he was of common origins. A revolt which broke out among native Egyptian soldiers gave him his opportunity to seize the throne. These troops, returning home from a disastrous military expedition to Cyrene in Libya, suspected that they had been betrayed in order that Apries, the reigning king, might rule more absolutely by means of his Greek mercenaries; many Egyptians fully sympathized with them.

General Amasis, sent to meet them and quell the revolt, was proclaimed king by the rebels instead, and Apries, who had now to rely entirely on his mercenaries, was defeated. Apries was either taken prisoner in the ensuing conflict at Memphis before being eventually strangled and buried in his ancestral tomb at Sais, or fled to the Babylonians and was killed mounting an invasion of his native homeland in 567 BC with the aid of a Babylonian army. An inscription confirms the struggle between the native Egyptian and the foreign soldiery, and proves that Apries was killed and honourably buried in the third year of Amasis (ca 567 BC). Amasis then married Chedebnitjerbone II, one of the daughters of his predecessor Apries, in order to legitimise his kingship.

Sarcophagus of the treasurer Anch-Hor with illustrations of daemons of the Netherworld.
Circa 746 BC - 332 BC

Dimensions: 1320 x 1100 x 2650 mm

The sarcophagus of the treasurer Anch-Hor impresses with its material, size and decoration. For its production, a hard rock, granodiorite, was used. The total weight of this coffin is more than five tons. Into the polished surface of the stone inscriptions and figurative representations were carved, which create a light-dark contrast because of their pecked interior surfaces.

On the long sides there are 42 divine beings with pointed knives in their hands. These are judges of the netherworld, who correspond to the vignettes on the death book papyri. The dead man stands together with the gods on the upper semicircular narrow side. On this side are the goddesses Isis and Nephthys, as well as symbolic representations of the god Osiris. In the center there is a scarab in a sun-disc, from the sun-rays to the earth. All representations aim at a continuing life in the hereafter.

Upper part of a standing figure of the priest Hori, circa 525 - 450 BC.

Hori was the High Priest of Ptah at the very end of the reign of Ramesses II. Hori succeeded Neferronpet in office.

Hori was a son of prince Khaemwaset and hence a grandson of Ramesses II. Hori had an older brother named Ramesses who had served as Sem priest of Ptah. It was Hori however who would eventually follow in his father's footsteps and become high priest. Hori also had a sister named Isetnofret. It is possible that Isetnofret married her uncle Merenptah and served as his queen. If so, Hori would have been both a nephew and a brother-in-law to pharaoh Merenptah.

Hori is attested on:

• A pillar originally from his tomb in Saqqara. Hori uses the titles Noble, Chief in charge of Both Lands, Sem Priest and High Priest. He is explicitly said to be the son of Khaemwaset.

Ushabtis or Shabtis were placed in tombs among the grave goods and were intended to act as servants or minions for the deceased, should he/she be called upon to do manual labor in the afterlife. The figurines frequently carried a hoe on their shoulder and a basket on their backs, implying they were intended to farm for the deceased.

They were usually written on by the use of hieroglyphs typically found on the legs. Called 'answerers', they carried inscriptions asserting their readiness to answer the gods' summons to work. The practice of using shabtis originated in the Old Kingdom (ca. 2600 to 2100 BC) with the use of life-sized reserve heads made from limestone, which were buried with the mummy. Most ushabtis were of minor size, and many produced in multiples – they sometimes covered the floor around a sarcophagus. Exceptional shabtis are of larger size, or were produced as a one of-a-kind master work.

The embalmed interior organs were placed in four jars, protected by four different gods, whose heads adorn their lids. The jars are often made of so-called 'Egyptian alabaster', i.e. calcite.

A - Jars belonging to the priest of Month Bes-n-Mut II, the uncle of Ankh-f-n-Khonsu VIII. Luxor, Late Period, ca 650 BC.

B - Jar brought to Denmark in 1737 by the envoy of Christian VI, naval lieutenant F.L. Norden (on the left) and in 1767 by lieutenant of the engineers Carsten Niebuhr, who was sent out to 'Arabia felix' by Frederik V. Late Period, 664 - 332 BC.

The Twenty-seventh Dynasty of Egypt, also known as the First Egyptian Satrapy was effectively a province (satrapy) of the Achaemenid Persian Empire between 525 BC to 404 BC. It was founded by Cambyses II, the King of Persia, after his conquest of Egypt and subsequent crowning as Pharaoh of Egypt, and was disestablished upon the rebellion and crowning of Amyrtaeus as Pharaoh.

The last pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty, Psamtik III, was defeated by Cambyses II at the battle of Pelusium in the eastern Nile delta in May of 525 BC. Cambyses was crowned Pharaoh of Egypt in the summer of that year at the latest, beginning the first period of Persian rule over Egypt (known as the 27th Dynasty). Egypt was then joined with Cyprus and Phoenicia to form the sixth satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire, with Aryandes as the local satrap (provincial governor).

27th Dynasty

Name

Horus (Throne) Name

Years

Dates

Comments

Cambyses II

Mesutire

3

525 BC - 522 BC

Defeated Psamtik III at the Battle of Pelusium in 525 BC.

Bardiya/Gaumata

1

522 BC

Possible imposter.

Petubastis III

Seheruibre

2

522/521 BC - 520 BC

Rebelled against the Achaemenid Pharaohs.

Darius I the Great

Stutre

36

522 BC - 486 BC

Xerxes I the Great

21

486 BC - 465 BC

Psamtik IV

21

480s BC

Proposed rebel against the Achaemenid Pharaohs.

Artabanus

1

465 BC - 464 BC

Assassinated Xerxes I, later killed by Artaxerxes I.

Artaxerxes I

41

465 BC - 424 BC

Xerxes II

1

425 BC - 424 BC

Claimant to throne.

Sogdianus

1

424 BC - 423 BC

Claimant to throne.

Darius II

19

423 BC - 404 BC

Last Pharaoh of the 27th Dynasty.

Table of 27th Dynasty Rulers, adapted from various sources, including Wikipedia.

( note that http://www.smb-digital.de/ lists this as Ptolemaic. I have used the date given on the Museum card, and on a normally reliable site, http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/akhmim.htm - Don )

Dimensions: 1840 x 470 x 395 mm

The lid of this double coffin of Nes-pa-maj has been patched together. The face of the owner has been idealised, and the neck collar is conventional for the time.

( note that http://www.smb-digital.de/ lists this as Ptolemaic. I have used the date given on the Museum card, and on a normally reliable site, http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/akhmim.htm - Don )

Lid: The depictions of Osiris, resting on a lion-footed bed, mourned by Isis and Nephtys, who in turn are flanked by two so-called Horus children, as well as the winged Nechbet and the long ranks of knife wielding protection demons both on the large exterior and on the elegant inner coffin lid.

The Twenty-eighth Dynasty of Egypt is usually classified as the third dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian Late Period. The 28th Dynasty lasted from 404 BC to 398 BC and it includes only one Pharaoh, Amyrtaeus (Amenirdis), also known as Psammetichus V.

28th Dynasty

Name

Horus (Throne) Name

Years

Dates

Comments

Amyrtaeus (Amenirdis), also known asPsammetichus V

6

404 BC - 398 BC

Amyrtaeus was probably the grandson of the Amyrtaeus of Sais,who is known to have carried on a rebellion in 465–463 BCwith the Libyan chief, Inarus (himself a grandson of Psamtik III),against the satrap Achaemenes of Egypt.

Table of the 28th Dynasty Ruler, Amyrtaeus, adapted from Wikipedia.

The 29th Dynasty: 398 BC - 380 BC

The Twenty-ninth Dynasty of Egypt is usually classified as the fourth Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian Late Period. It was founded after the overthrow of Amyrtaeus, the last Pharaoh of the 28th Dynasty, by Nefaarud I in 398 BC, and disestablished upon the overthrow of Nefaarud II in 380 BC.

29th Dynasty

Name

Years

Dates

Comments

Nefaarud I

5

398 BC - 393 BC

Defeated Amyrtaeus in open battle and had him executed.

Psammuthes

1

393 BC

Reigned for only a year. Overthrown by Hakor.

Hakor (Achoris)

13

393 BC - 380 BC

Overthrew his predecessor Psammuthes. Father of Nefaarud II.

Nefaarud II

< 1

380 BC

Was deposed and probably killed by Nectanebo I after ruling for only 4 months.

Table of the 29th Dynasty Rulers, adapted from Wikipedia.

The 30th Dynasty: 380 BC - 343 BC

The Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt is usually classified as the fifth Dynasty of the Ancient Egyptian Late Period. It was founded after the overthrow of Nefaarud II in 380 BC by Nectanebo I, and ended with the invasion of Egypt by the King of Persia, Artaxerxes III in 343 BC.

30th Dynasty

Name

Horus (Throne) Name

Years

Dates

Comments

Nectanebo I

Kheperkare

18

380 BC - 362 BC

Deposed and probably killed Nefaarud II, Father of Teos.

Teos

Irmaatenre

2

362 BC - 360 BC

Co-regent with his father Nectanebo I from about 365 BC.Was overthrown by Nectanebo II.

Nectanebo II

SenedjemibraSetenpeninhur

17

360 BC - 343 BC

Last native ruler of ancient Egypt.

Table of the 30th Dynasty Rulers, adapted from Wikipedia.

30th Dynasty: 380 BC - 343 BC

The Berlin green head.

230 x 140 x 200 mm.
The Berlin Green Head is an ancient Egyptian statue head made from green schist and housed in the Egyptian Museum of Berlin, not far from the Nefertiti Bust. It has been considered the work of a highly skilled (though unknown) ancient Egyptian sculptor, as well as one of the most famous and credited pieces of art from the Late and Ptolemaic periods of ancient Egypt.

The face of the statue is calm and emotionless and, unusually for contemporary works of art, also perfectly symmetric, and it is that of an intelligent-looking, middle-aged man with many well-rendered wrinkles and lines. The statue's shaved, oval-shaped skull is so realistic that it was once believed that the sculptor could not have made it without ancient Greek knowledge of anatomy, a claim subsequently disproved by the analysis of similar, earlier Egyptian artworks. On the back of the head, the top portion of a conventional back pillar is still visible.

The whole artefact is uninscribed, thus the owner's name and titles are unknown. For the same reason, the statue could only be dated on stylistic grounds. Once regarded as art of the Saite Period, it was later attributed to the Ptolemaic Period by Friedrich Wilhelm von Bissing. In 1960, Bernard von Bother further reduced the time range to between 100 and 50 BCE, arguing that the head reveals a maturity not compatible with the earlier Ptolemaic art, as well as a similarity with some upcoming Roman Republic-era Egyptian works. Its provenance is also unknown, as well as its trace before 1895, when it was acquired from the collections of prince Ibrahim Hilmy and Henry Wallis.

The Berlin Green Head has been compared to the similar, yet earlier, Boston Green Head, with the former one having lost part of the 'verism' (along with that, the asymmetry) which is more prominent in the latter one, yet without compromising the characterisation of the individual represented on it.

This head of a bald man is generally known as the 'green head' because of the colour of the stone. It is one of the masterpieces of the Berlin collection. On the face, the fine models are characterised by the sharp accents, which hardly show the material stone, but rather show a person marked by life - even if the older moves are more idealistic than realistic.

For example, the ridges on the nasal root and the crow's feet, which are indicated by three scribe lines on the sides of the eyes. Beneath the eyes are highly modelled tear ducts. Nasolabial folds protrude from the broad nose, which lead in an arc to the corners of the mouth. The rest of the chain, which appears like a smooth cord, can be seen on the left side of the neck. On the back there is a blunt, unmarked back pillar.

The dating of the head is controversially discussed and for the most part covers the 7th to the 1st century v. In this context it was often questioned to what extent the production of the head was influenced by Greek or Roman portraits. The head is doubtless in the Egyptian tradition and does not reflect the form of the western Mediterranean. Even if the pros and cons of the different points of view can not be explained at this point, a preference for the late Ptolemaic era is preferred.

What is decisive here is the fascinating effect of the head - the reproduction of the appearance as well as the personality of the man. Because the head is shown bald, it can be concluded that it is of a priest, for which group baldness (or a shaven head) was normal.

The head had already passed through several hands, before it was donated by James Simon in 1894 to the Berlin collection.

This foot sleeve is remarkably richly decorated. On the bottom are images of conquered foreigners: an Asian and an African. Originating from a much earlier period in which that hostility was still productive, they have become symbols repelling evil here.

Around the plastically shaped feet with gilt nails we can see sandal straps. The feet are surrounded by a checkered pattern. The sides of the base sleeve are decorated with rosettes and the eye of Horus. The bottom also shows a pattern that had already been in use for thousands of years at this time. On the soles are the painted figures of two foreign prisoners. On the left is an Asian with light skin and long hair and a growth of beard. On the right is depicted a darker person, possibly an African. Both are traditional enemies of Egypt, and the images are placed in a denigrating position. Under the feet of the mummy they would be pushed down in the dust.

Figures of foreigners in Egypt more often adorn sandals, ottomans, chair legs or walking sticks. As destroyers of peace in Egypt, they were seen as enemies of the ruler and the people. This ancient enemy symbolism under the political relations of the Roman Imperial period, of course, was no longer meaningful. The decorations on the foot shell had become a symbol to safeguard against the evil forces that could threaten the survival of the dead person in the afterlife.

The Thirty-first Dynasty of Egypt, also known as the Second Egyptian Satrapy, was effectively a short-lived province (satrapy) of the Achaemenid Persian Empire between 343 BC to 332 BC. It was founded by Artaxerxes III, the King of Persia, after his reconquest of Egypt and subsequent crowning as Pharaoh of Egypt, and was terminated upon the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great.

The period of the 31st Dynasty was the second occasion in which Persian pharaohs ruled Egypt, hence the term 'Second Egyptian Satrapy'. Before the 31st Dynasty was founded, Egypt had enjoyed a brief period of independence, during which three indigenous dynasties reigned (the 28th, 29th, and 30th dynasties). The period before this is referred to as the "First Egyptian Satrapy" or the 27th Dynasty.

Table of the 31st Dynasty Rulers, adapted from Wikipedia.

31st Dynasty

Name

Horus (Throne) Name

Years

Dates

Comments

Artaxerxes III

5

343 BC - 338 BC

Placed Egypt under Persian rule for a second time

Artaxerxes IV

2

338 BC - 336 BC

Placed Egypt under Persian rule for a second time.

Artaxerxes IV

2

338 BC - 336 BC

Only reigned in Lower (northern) Egypt.

Khababash

Senen-setepu-ni-ptah

3

338 BC - 335 BC

Led a revolt against Persian rule in Upper (southern) Egypt, declared himself Pharaoh.

Darius III

3

338 BC - 335 BC

Upper Egypt returned to Persian control in 335 BC.

Table of the 31st Dynasty Rulers, adapted from Wikipedia.

Pyramid K.1 of the 4th century BC at El-Kurru, south of Jebel Barkal, North Sudan.

Pyramids dating to the time of the Kingdom of Napata (circa 750 BC - 650 BC) and later.

K.1 - Unknown King. One of the largest pyramids. Located just south and adjacent to the pyramid of Piye (K.17) Dated to circa 362 BC - 342 BC (after Harsiotef, before Akhraten).

Photo: Bertramz
Permission: GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or any later version
Text: Wikipedia

Late Period/Ptolemaic Era: 380 BC - 250 BC

Pen-ta-hut-hetep

Gold mask of the priest Pen-ta-hut-hetep.

Since the New Kingdom, the dead were equated with Osiris and should, like the god, reach a godly status in the realm of the dead. Thus, the mummy and the coffin are decorated so that the deceased appears as a forever-young god. Belonging to the typical burial objects are relatively small masks out of cartonnage, which lay around the head of the mummy. The gold plate on the face symbolizes the gold flesh of the gods and is thus everlasting.

Gold-plated cartonnage mask of Pen-ta-hut-hetep, who died at the age of 54 to 63 years.

Golden in colour, the delicate features framed by a greenish-blue wig - the mummy mask of the Khnum-priest Pent-ta-hut-hetep reflects the afterlife after the Old Kingdom. The Egyptians wanted the person to be resurrected after death by the god Osiris, and therefore gave the deceased idealised images of masks to match this and other gods. Green and blue, colours of vegetation, as well as the emergence of new life, as well as the gold of the colour of divine flesh are typical aspects of such face masks. This mummy mask belonged to the Late Period (664-332 BC) originating in the aboveground burial chamber of the tomb QH 207, which was originally created in the Old Kingdom, 2707 - 2202 BC.

Pent-ta-hut-hetep died at the age of between 54 and 63 years, and may be identified by his burial in a separated room, and by a high quality, interlocking nested coffin ensemble with special decorations as well as the size, quantity and craftsmanship of the grave goods as a man of high social status. In addition, there is a full list of his relatives and ancestors, so that the names of the parents of the deceased are known. It was very probably his brother who was buried in the casket right next to him.

Text: translated from the display at the Ägyptische Museum der Universität Bonn

Pent-ta-hut-hetep was a priest dedicated to the service of the god Khnum.

Khnum was one of the earliest Egyptian deities, a ram-headed god who was originally the god of the source of the Nile River. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt and clay, and its water brought life to its surroundings, he was thought to be the creator of the bodies of human children, which he made at a potter's wheel, from clay, and placed in their mothers' wombs. He later was described as having moulded the other deities, and he had the titles Divine Potter and Lord of created things.

References

Harer W., 1985: Pharmacological and Biological Properties of the Egyptian Lotus, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 22 (1985), pp. 49-54 Published by: American Research Center in Egypt DOI: 10.2307/40000390

Kákosy L., 1995: 'The Soter Tomb in Thebes', in S.P, Vleeming (ed.), Hundred-Gated Thebes: Acts of a Colloqium on Thebes and the Theban area in the Graeco-Roman Period, Leiden: Brill, 61- 67

More photographs of sites and venuses are always welcome!
If you would like a particular archaeological site to be covered here, if you have questions or comments, or if you have any photographs or information which would be useful for Don's Maps please contact Don Hitchcock at don@donsmaps.com

Important Information
I do not keep back any higher resolution photos from my website. To obtain the highest resolution I have, you need to click the small image (thumbnail) on the web page, when the full, higher resolution image will appear on your screen, from which you can copy or download it. Thus, each small image is a link to the highest resolution of that image that I have available, and anyone can access it just by clicking on the thumbnail.

Use of images Anyone (students, teachers, lecturers, writers of books, film/video makers, the general public) may use and reproduce, crop and alter the photographs which I have made of objects and scenes at no charge, and without asking permission. If you decide to use one or more of my images, I would be grateful if you would include a credit such as 'Photo: Don Hitchcock, donsmaps.com' or similar, at the place you normally put your credits. Obviously this does not apply for any rephotography I have made of existing photographs and diagrams from other people, in which case copyright remains with the original photographer or artist. Nor does it apply where there is some other weird copyright law which overrides my permission.